Bucket Flowers
by damnationSUSHItruck
Summary: Date Masamune never imagined the day to come where he would be agreeing to allow a woman to be a part of his army, but sitting in front of one of the country's most wealthiest family head, he finds himself accepting the proposal to take Konoe Akeakamai beneath his wing... until one day he blurts out a marriage proposal.
1. Chapter 0 Prologue

Prologue

Standing only less than a meter away from one another, Masamune unconsciously began boring holes into the varnished floorboards, unsure of how to directly respond to the situation he was in. It was true that he hadn't ever imagined being in such an unforeseen state of affair since such a delicate position was far from what he was used to dealing with… and what frightened him the most was the mere fact that he was not on the battlefield, which was his natural element. He raised his head tentatively and found staring intently at his bride-to-be's white face more of an alibi to his inexperience in the field rather than a reminder of his inability to handle such an event.

Yet the eerie plate of steel set deep in her undertone yet torrid eyes had lacked the sort of comfort he unwisely sought. There was no doubt that something about the woman had struck a curious nerve somewhere in his chest, but at the time, staring at each other as the ceremony reached a close only heightened his level of interest. The unpredictable life he would be leading in the next few days would prove interesting enough.

_But then it happened_.

The large, tower-length doors to the wooden chamber unlocked – a gaping break of light shattering the silence that blanketed the heavy ceiling – and proudly entering the massive room, the raven and silver-haired heir to one of Japan's wealthiest families violently forced in her attendance, interrupting the auspicious event with her haughty self that boomed splendor. 'I object to this wedding!' And like a typhoon she stood at the centre of the room, hardening her eyes with a fire that burned with confidence. 'Date Masamune… _marry me_!'


	2. Chapter 1

Staring at Konoe Wakato Tsukasa in disbelief by his confident statement of placing his daughter in charge of being third seat to Oushuu's most-feared army, Date Masamune sat across from the man, unable to contain his discontentment with the elder's decision. 'It is sudden – _yes_, I am aware of that – but I feel that I must hold part of the responsibility since the Konoe family name is known for its power…,' he observed the one-eyed dragon whom now sat at the brink of defiance. He looked as if he were on the verge of exploding over the old man but had managed to contain himself by folding his arms and thinking through such a thing carefully.

Kojurou – sitting behind his leader as usual – had naturally expected his head's displeasure towards the matter and instantly began putting together a mental resolution. 'And since much of this land belongs to the Konoe, I have every right to be a part of such assembly, wouldn't you agree?' the old man said rhetorically as he raised his cup, tilting it ever so slightly so that the hot contents touched his lips.

It was clear by Masamune's silence at the time that he was deep in reflection. He touched his chin, cupping it with his thumb and curled forefinger before placing it over his other arm again. 'Konoe-dono, with all due respect, I am not in favor of such a request.' He confessed earnestly to the elder man who nodded knowledgably while closing his eyes. 'I highly respect your concern for Oushuu, yet ultimately, I am the one who is Oushuu's leader, and I must make the decision that I feel is best for my men.'

The old man by now had finished his tea in small sips and placed his hands over his lap, smiling softly as if the expression was an unaware norm. 'I must inform you, Date Masamune, that my daughter is no ordinary woman, but is a trained warrior. She has been in countless battles and it would be both hers and my honor if you would in time feel comfortable with such action.' _Damn this old man, making decisions for himself_, Masamune thought, clenching his jaw before uttering something despicable to the scheming old man he had no control over even in the past two years of knowing him.

'Masamune-dono, this is my daughter,' Tsukasa said quietly as the bamboo door slid open behind him and a form dropped to the floor with a _thud_.

The form – seeming a rumpled heap of white under the burden of the sun – had prostrated itself on the tatami. '_Konoe Akeakamai_ – fifty three battles, thirteen killed; one hundred and seven casualties. Daughter of Konoe Wakato Tsukasa and Konoe Akari Fuyumi, I am here but to serve.' She had explained, still keeping her forehead pressed against the floor until her father had beckoned for her to raise her head.

The first thing the brunette Date had noticed about the woman was the fact that her eyes were the colour of something colourless; they were plainly _gray_. Her hair had folded over her shoulders in drapes of eye-attracting darkness that framed her insipid face in layers, whereas the clump at the very top of her head was snow _white_. It was an odd site to take in for the development of a lasting first impression, and still dissatisfied with his new addition to the army, Oushuu's leader found his interest lingering in the taste her first name made on his tongue. He was tempted to say it, to roll it about in his mouth until he felt bored, but contained this strange asphyxiation by sticking his nose in the air, which was an infamous trait of his. 'Kojurou,' he mumbled expectantly to his lieutenant whom instantly grasped the situation's needs. 'Yes, Masamune-sama,' and he was highly aware of the undertone in his leader's voice that suggested the two of them discuss the current matter at a later time.

Kojurou stood from his post and directed the woman who – when standing to follow Masamune's second in charge – was the height of a Bo staff. Once again this struck Oushuu's leader as odd due to the fact that every women from what he's seen in his lifetime only reached the level of his shoulders. 'I will need to discuss such an affair with my men, Konoe-dono,' he put forth his petition to the old man who didn't seem moved by the thought of this appeal. 'I have no objections as such.' Tsukasa stood slowly which in turn had summoned Masamune to his feet as well in a gesture of respect.

'I look forward to favourable remarks, Masamune-dono.' Masamune chewed on the inside of his gum slowly as he kept one hand occupied with clutching his katana to his side and the other resting in his robe. On walking to his chambers he had pondered on the prospect of accepting a complete stranger into his defense force before reaching the reasonable decision to trial this _Konoe Akeakamai_. 'Akeakamai…' he said under his breath, finally having the chance to articulate the bizarre title for kin of royalty.

Masamune slid open the heavy door to the central hall and found himself standing idle at the entrance, staring at the new addition whom stood positioned for battle with her chin raised in front of his presence. Oushuu's leader smirked inwardly at the lines _speak of the devil_, and noticing Kojurou who sat at the opposite side of the room with his back facing nature's serene exposure. 'You'd better draw your swords; I'm not in a particularly good mood today.' He mumbled, fingering the hilt of his sword as he bent his front leg in stance.

He was surprised at her level of obedience for being an offspring of Konoe who were rumored for their arrogance and haughtiness, but was even more surprised by the fact that she was simply standing as if completely disregarding the fear of being struck unaware. He had recalled the gist of her introduction moments earlier when she had mentioned that she had been in many battles but had only killed not even a quarter of the opponents she'd managed to injure. 'But I don't have a problem with cutting you down either.'

Masamune stepped forward, treading lightly but heavily as he removed his sword from its scabbard and swung the blade ruthlessly. Akea had stepped back, using the broad sleeve of her right arm to conceal the brute force of the attack and sidestepped in a circular motion around the length of the blade, back-handing Oushuu's leader. But enjoying her unexpected approach to physical conflict, Masamune grinned at the long forgotten unforeseen expectancy of a battle and threw his other arm forward, introducing two more sheathed katanas and used them as a means of protection from her powerful blow. Drawing the swords as she stepped back to avoid being hit, Masamune had managed to set shallow cuts into her fingers when he managed to see her pull the chain from the length of her ribbon-like nightingale wisp of hair that glided gracefully around the shape of her neck. The silver disks of the Kusarigama had circled the three blades tightly and constricted them into the wooden panels of the floor with her surprising strength. Chips of wood had become part of the air as the pressure in the room built to an extraordinary climax and as if in slow motion, Masamune had abandoned the hilts of the three swords and as unsightly as lightning he had reached for three more.

Curious to push her to draw the twin swords that were arranged together at her back which glinted through cotton covers adorned with details of pure gold, the one-eyed dragon reached for the discarded swords once again that she had no choice but to ignore in self-defense and raised them in unison. '_Tch_, you're not bad. Kojurou,' he relaxed his arms and sheathed the katana tenderly before turning on his heel and leaving the room.

Kojurou stood, thoughtfully agreeing on his leader's decision to keep the Konoe and proceeded to showing her her new quarters in the head centre of Oushuu. He could tell by their heated battle that Masamune was clearly fascinated by the unusual air of the woman from the moment she had introduced herself and aware of her position as third seat from now on, Kojurou had secretly looked forward to the future with their new addition to the army.


	3. Chapter 2

Masamune pressed his knees against the cold floor and rested his hands on his lap, bowing his head thoughtfully in the direction of the setting sun when Kojurou had returned to his master's quarters. 'What did the report state?' Masamune requested of his deputy whom sat behind his leader humbly. Kojurou placed his hands over his lap attentively before closing his eyes, pensively choosing his words. 'Word has spread of Tokugawa Ieyasu and his men losing grip on the country's tight control. Our inside information proves the declaration of a battle tomorrow true – it's Tokugawa's men.'

Masamune frowned subtly in contemplation, brainstorming the possibilities of attacking head-on, yet the risk of not knowing whether the army would fall in from Mikawa or would go through Owari was not worth taking. The leader's eyes had diverted from the ginger backlighting of the extinguished sun to Kojurou and had slipped from his lieutenant to the third seat Konoe who sat in silence with her eyes closed. His thoughts had travelled from war strategy to the curious bundle of ideas surrounding his third seat which he now questioned mentally if she was mute. Following her introduction in the earlier part of the day was only silence which even though it was what he preferred, he was accustomed to the fact that the newcomers were timid fellows but nonetheless chirpy from observing Kojurou in his experience with dealing with the novices. 'My Lord,' she had spoken softly; words falling in whispers from her feminine lips which the warlord samurai before her was in the least familiar with looking at.

'I request four men to accompany me to Owari where we will wait disguising ourselves in the commoners for Tokugawa's men,' she explained as if voicing a carefully planned month-in-advance structured preparation of maneuvering around the enemy. 'If we are able to recognize Tokugawa's men in advance I will make preparation to dispatch a messenger bird in the direction of where you will stand together with our men.'

Astonished by the beginner's unanticipated ability to arrange such a complex design in only a matter of minutes after receiving the vital parts of information, Masamune couldn't help but express his wonderment of the Konoe by smirking characteristically. 'OH? I think we have a plan here, Kojurou! Not bad, Konoe,' he commended the soldier for her quick ability to put two and two together as she lowered her head submissively.

Konoe Akeakamai hadn't blended in with the crowd as she would have imagined. The section of Owari that promised direction into Oushuu was dry and bare, deserted to the core where nothing but abandoned people and waste made up for its lack of civilization. Being native province to Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Akea didn't find it odd that the prefecture was this uninhabited.

Surrounded by the silence of Owari, Akea found her conscience drifting from the thought of the anticipated confrontation to a more delicate subject that surfaced the reason behind her reserved personality. Even though it may have seemed like a ridiculous reason for a young woman to enroll under Date Masamune's wing as third seat, Akea had been involved in the battle involving the Tokugawa era since the age of twenty three when her father had fallen ill to a rare heart disease. She hadn't ever found comfort in the extravagance of royalty and instead found her passion in fighting for something she found that was worth keeping and that was keeping the country free of war… but maintaining peace; from her experience fighting against the struggle; had only conceived rivalry that pierced the spear of battle even deeper into the land of the rising sun.

Throwing the discoloured scarf around the tasseled collar of her white uniform, Akea descended further into the bowels of the desolate land when she had noticed soldiers dressed in polluted green attire that instantly gave away their identification of being under Tokugawa's rule.

Raising her arm inconspicuously, Reiko, the vulture at her beck and call had hooked his talons into the thick shoulder pad of her white apparel. Feeding the large bird the bright red piece of silk ribbon, it took flight again and disappeared into the distance where Akea had directed the bird of prey – it had descended towards Mikawa where Masamune and the rest of his army stood guarding the path to Oushuu.

Staring above at the circling mammal as its glorious wingspan blocked the sun, Masamune grinned at her attempt of dark humor since he had imagined this _bird_ being a sparrow or a raven. He was somehow beginning to take a liking to his new 'third-seat' and readying his horse after informing Kojurou of his change in position, had drawn his dragon claws in anticipation of battle where at the peak of the hill he was able to notice the growing swell of soldiers that made way toward Mikawa. 'ARE YOU READY?' he cockily questioned his men on raising his sword and receiving a convincing roar of agreement from the men behind him, had charged straight in. '_Put ya guns on!_'

Arriving only after a minute of battle between Tokugawa's and Oushuu's men, Akea joined the conflict, using her bare hands against weapons where she could. Taken by surprise by the destructive power of the one-eyed dragon, she was both unexpectedly and momentarily stunned by the glints of lightning that ephemerally enhanced the battlefield and had struck fear into the opponent's hearts. Cowering at the site of Oushuu's fearless young leader whom stepped forward from the residue of his destruction, a voice in the distance had shouted '_retreat!_' to the remaining men on the battlefield, and basking in victory beneath the dull autumn sun, Akea stared at her leader's back with deep reverence. She hadn't ever imagined seeing this triumphant leader's back ever appearing so… _crestfallen_.

'Did you see leader-sama? Man, he was awesome today!' The men boomed from the dining area where Masamune had passed by in order to reach the vestibule habituated for meetings to take place in. On entering the quiet room, Oushuu's leader sat noiselessly beneath the folded wicker shutters with his arms folded across his chest. Lost deep in thought of his earlier dissatisfaction on the battlefield beside the contemplation of Maeda Keiji's sudden request for joining forces with the Tiger of Kai and Kenshin Uesugi, he kept his attention directed towards the sun that had by now began floating like a lost red balloon against the periwinkle sky. In deep reflection of the strange feeling of disappointment when he had wielded his weapons today, Masamune had attempted studying this feeling in all accuracy, starting with the dissection when the door to the chamber had creaked open and Konoe Akeakamai had entered the hall. Outside of the front lines Masamune was a contained, quiet, introverted man whom sat in thought for considerable portions of each day, and unmoving from his comfortable location on the floor he watched the supple female as she kneeled gracefully with her back toward him in the darkness, completely unaware of the presence of Oushuu's head.

Watching the elegant creature like a swan admirably that fluttered into its crystal pool abode, where the impression she had given him was one that unconsciously made him see her as a sort of creature that didn't ask to be but kept to herself. Curious of the rare presence of such a being Masamune found watching her something he doubted would prove boring even if for a lifetime. The swan woman had bowed her head as if in prayer and had closed her eyes, leaving only a reserved portion of her porcelain skin exposed in the intimate touch of the sun's fading hospitality where under the vanishing caress of its dying rays, her lips had parted with poise.

Realizing how awkward his action really was, Oushuu's leader directed his attention to the astonishing discovery of a cat as white as snow that held its nose in the air snobbishly and stared back at Masamune with just as much condemnation. Where did this cat come from? Masamune was slightly troubled by the thought that perhaps the animal was with Akea all this time and the slim chances of him actually not noticing it were a reality. Yet ignoring that sudden concern, he wasn't particularly in favour of such an animal since a dragon and a cat would most certainly make an odd combination. He rubbed his fingers together in the direction of the silver mammal due to his inexperience in dealing with domesticated creatures and also as a means not to disturb his third seat, but the cat stared at him as if offended by the action and had refused to leave its owner's post.

Cursing at the animal mentally he suddenly remembered to watch the sun offer its final piece of warmth for the day but was unexpectedly rapt with the exquisite epitome of grandeur as her whispers by now effortlessly reached his keen ears. The cat as well – after much persuasion – had finally decided to visit the dragon and crawled into Masamune's lap quietly before making itself comfortable. Horrified at the animal's uncalled-for affection, Masamune was about to shout at it when he thought otherwise of the idea by getting lost again in the whispers that by now had turned into undertones of the cicadas that musically clamored in unison. 'Oh greater entity that above and below me nurtures this earth with water and soil, enamor these men with joy in their strength. Keep them great distances from death's hands and protect them with every piece of my soul that wishes so,' she murmured, pausing only briefly as if to remember the rest of what she had prepared.

'Oh knowledgeable one, keep trembles far from my leader and let him make such trembles instead. Shower him with your rain of contentment and eternal peace and let my eyes never again witness such wordless agony that today they had feast upon…' he knew he shouldn't have been listening to her, but the fact that her whispers were loud sentences to his highly sensitive ears, Masamune had no choice but to hear her requests of God.

He was surprised at her mention of the _agony_ she'd apparently seen in him earlier in the day and had associated her observation with the inexplicable feeling of disappointment in battle he'd felt. 'Maeda Keiji… his ideology may seem ludicrous but it is most certainly, to me; knowledgeable one; a thought that I find most soothing to the heart. Let us not fight but practice distances to cringe for war only breeds war and battle breeds only more battle. Who would wish for such torment when there is tranquility at our very fingertips?' it had sounded as if she were in debate with herself, mentally resounding every bundled thought she couldn't manage to uncoil.

'_Sonano_…?' the swan whispered, looking over her shoulder in search of the white cat and found her eyes locking with the watchful gaze of Oushuu's one-eyed dragon. It was most definitely an awkward position to be in at the time, and wondering why he hadn't escaped any sooner to save him the brainpower of dealing with this, the uncomfortable air was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Akea standing on her feet in an instant. Masamune braced himself for her walking out of the room in utter silence but was surprised by the solid expression she had managed to maintain as her gracefulness transformed into a concrete heap of defense.

The two of them stared at one another for what seemed like an hour even though it had only been one entire minute, when the Konoe had exited the room with a heavy air of silence.

And it was that very night that he had in his sleep witnessed a dream he knew he'd never forget.

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Hi everyone~! ^^

Hope you're all enjoying my fan-fiction, please review! I'd love to know what you think of it.


	4. Chapter 3

'_KONOE_…!' Kojurou brought his palm to his forehead mentally and lowered his head in prediction of his leader barging into the indoor dojo with his hair flaring from just waking up. It had been a month after the incident of Masamune overhearing Akeakamai's prayer in the main chamber, and that very night he had witnessed… no, he had dreamt a _nightmare_.

'KONOE AKEAKAMAI! _Fight me_!' he demanded, trampling over the silence in the empty wooden room where the door had slid open and Oushuu's quiet leader outside the battlefield transformed into a blood-hungry beast looking forward to getting his claws into his meal.

Akeakamai remained seated peacefully in her position on the floor and simply tilted her head an inch to regard her optimistic leader that demanded such a ridiculous request so early in the morning. 'Please be quiet, Masamune-sama,' she whispered so as to not disrupt the stillness any further, but the newly developed character she had acquired during her stay with Oushuu's leader and his men had only made the one-eyed dragon even more frustrated since she was a force in his territory that was entirely uncontrollable.

'Don't tell me what to do, damn you!' he drew his sword as the sharpened tip of the blade teased the shortest layer of black hair that rested at her eye-level. 'You did this, didn't you?'

Akea looked up at him finally and found staring at the miniature picture of a banana drawn on Oushuu's most-feared leader's forehead more amusing than she had imagined. She suppressed a chuckle but her laughter had proved uncontrollable by the mischievous glint that cheered her cold eyes… and the look she gave him pissed him off even more. 'If it wasn't that guy with the monkey it must have been you… stand, Konoe! That's an order.'

Akeakamai stood elegantly, rising charmingly like a phoenix from the ashes and touched her cheek in a way that Masamune found wickedly pleasing to his eye. 'I am solely responsible for opening your room door for Sonano. _He_ is responsible for the rest of _that_, Masamune-sama,' she pointed at the childish picture on his forehead.

In disbelief of the cat's nuisance he glanced aside at the animal who sat contently at the corner of the room with an eye patch teasingly placed over its right eye… which was more than enough evidence of the animal's misdeed. Even though the thought was ridiculous, Masamune found this fact quite amusing and used it as a means to finally get his chance to get his feelings in check… since the _nightmare_ he'd had exactly a month ago showed him a picture of Akeakamai and him having tea together, but that was the tolerable part.

_They were married_.

Even the thought made him feel jittery, and contented with having his sword in his hand and in stance for battle, Masamune felt confident that he could get rid of the foreign emotion by snubbing the uncomfortable feeling with battle.

'Oh my, one-eyed dragon, you're so heated for battle that even your face is burning red!' Maeda Keiji announced from the sidelines as he moved from being beside Akea to camping next to Kojurou further away from where the brawl was about to take place.

'_Shut up_!' Masamune knew that it wasn't the anticipation of battle that made his feelings go up in frenzy but it was his incapability of controlling his wild emotions which was something completely alien to him.

Akea stood silently from her comfortable spot on the wooden panels and placed a hand over the hilt of the _tachi_ that rested against her back. Rekindling the intense curiosity to unleash a monstrous beast from the reserved Konoe, Masamune pushed aside his earlier bundle of uncertainty and steadied himself to the floor, gripping his sword in one hand and leaving the other at his side unattended to. Yet once again without fail he was precise in his theory of the reserved woman using her personality as also a means to avoid warfare.

He had respected her principles and beliefs and had decided against catcalling her to draw her weapons when she had stepped forward, seizing the blade in his hand with the constricting fabric of her right sleeve. It was a constant system she had worked at every time they had brawled for every day of the past month, and even though Masamune had observed every frame of her calculated movements he could not find a way of avoiding the sleeve motion. Reaching for two more swords with his free hand he had let go of the tapered weapon that lay in the grasp of her clothing and approached from below eye-level. The Konoe stepped back again into her original position where she found herself obliged to draw the Kusarigama, and using it as a means of distracting her opponent, she had regained her balance in a matter of split seconds before switching to offense.

Maeda Keiji rested at the shadowed corner of the room pleasantly as he watched both Oushuu's one-eyed dragon and his third seat – now given the name from the clan men _wings of the dragon_ for her style and elegance – proved exciting. Seeing the two of them heated in battle day after day had become of the highlights of everyone's work schedule around the Oushuu headquarters where not a soul dare miss such an event.

'Katakura-dono, you see this; _this_ is like a quarrel between lovers,' he observed the leader and his pair of wings as they fluttered about the room exchanging bolts of lightning with one another. Something about them had reminded the brunette Keiji of Matsu and Toshiie.

Kojurou stared at the Maeda with a mixture of disbelief and contemplation of that statement where he had initially thought the exact same thing only days earlier from watching the two in battle. Streaks of bright blue and gold had made the room completely static as the two tore away from each other and stood a meter apart. Frustrated with her inflexibility, Masamune scowled as if something bitter sat on his tongue. 'What's your ideology on war, Konoe? Why is it that you won't draw your swords, no matter what?' He had suggested to himself that perhaps they were ornamental since her clean uniform was already such an ornate garment meant for war, but he couldn't bring himself to agree with that.

It didn't do her skill justice.

Akeakamai arose from her kneeling position on the floor and pulled either side of the lengthy chain to harness it once again. Raising her silver eyes that reflected a mute silence, their quality like a pearl glinted in the natural light that entered the room from all sides as she stared at her leader intently, taking in his full form. 'War is not meant to be enjoyable. It is not meant to be fun… war itself is the epitome of _ghastliness_.'

She surprisingly spoke passionately on the matter and Masamune dropped his battle stance on noticing that she too had lost the urge to continue fighting.

'The battlefield is meant to be a place of loss. It is a place where one must not be afraid of deception for _life_ is a tool of deceiving. No world exists without sacrifice, where war compels us to give the things most precious to us, and that is why such a thing does not deserve to continue breeding.'

She turned on her heel and raised her chin in her leader's direction knowledgeably. 'You, Date Masamune-sama, should know me better than anyone else ever would. You, Date Masamune-sama, should understand far better than anyone else why I will not draw these swords.'

Watching her as she exited the large room, Masamune could tell that what her last statement was referring to was the time when he had overheard her prayer a month ago in the wooden chamber of the Oushuu headquarters. The room had begun emptying as their brawl reached a disappointing close, and standing alone at the center of the room with his hands clutching the swords at his sides, Oushuu's Head had never felt so dispirited with battle up until now.

Taking a life was too great a burden to carry let alone taking _thirteen_.

Akeakamai sat solicitously at the edge of the wooden stage that gave breathtaking view of the wood poppies and magnolias that grew together in buckets against the fence. Lost in her depthless ocean of reflection, the humble Konoe closed her eyes and breathed in the precious air of life that would in the end tear her apart. Defeat was an inevitable thought since she found dying in the name of nothing simply a wasteful demise, and meditative over the possibilities of her losing her life tomorrow, she was careless to notice the man that had joined her in her quiet self-discussion.

Masamune – aware of his limited days with his third seat since Konoe's head had requested her return – folded his arms into either sleeve across his chest and breathed in deeply before fixing his eye on the Himalayan blue poppy that bloomed only a step away from where the swan was seated… it was not growing in a bucket, which had struck the blossom as odd.

'My apologies, Masamune-sama, for being by your side for such a short span of time,' she apologized quietly – her voice moving smoothly into the soft wind that touched the length of hair that fell against the sensual curve of her spine.

Her leader scoffed at her ridiculous attempt at an unwanted apology and stuck his nose in the air. 'Who do you think you are, you kid,' he grinned. 'You're not the only one I want to battle.' - Since there was also Sanada Yukimura waiting in line too.

Masamune watched her the way he usually did when she was in his company and absorbed her tranquil form that sat as if patiently in wait. The golden tassels of her crisp white uniform glowed beneath the heavy light of the full moon that unfathomably enhanced her feminine exquisiteness to a height he hadn't expected it to reach. He was inexperienced with defining a woman since none had ever treated his eye as evocatively as she did, where all this time when he'd seen her as a comrade that had his back, tonight he had seen her as an entity of entice.

He was certain that the profound surface of unfathomable feelings of attraction toward her were meant to stay on the surface, but he was frightfully proved wrong by the explosive height of desire that lingered in the mysterious crevices of his racing heart. It was completely unlike him to fall victim to such comatose seduction she was playing on him since a _woman_ was the last thing on the warlord's mind… yet admiring the phoenix tale length of her coal black hair that drew circles on the panels of wood beneath her unconscious weight had drawn out an ephemeral sort of beauty that no artist would be capable of portraying.

He didn't want to accept it but he had already fallen for her. 'I'm thinking of starting my own empire, but only if you'd be my ally, Masamune-sama,' she mumbled, and her voice, pulling Oushuu's head out of his momentary daze, got to his feet in an instant and stood in front of the open door.

'You really talk about some weird things.' He mumbled before leaving the room, leaving his pair of wings smiling at the fleeting friendly affection of her leader.


	5. Chapter 4

The drama begins in this chapter!

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The one-eyed dragon huffed under the hot drench of the water he poured over his head and got to his feet slowly before reaching for the towel that hung against the misted wall.

It had been a day ago that he was seated next to his third-seat beneath the full moon, watching her as she radiated appeal to the extreme, and it had been only a _day_ ago that he had accepted he'd fallen for her.

The thought made Masamune cringe with some sick delight which in time made him want to simply get rid of it by any means possible… but the problem was _how_.

The slender brunette poured a large bucket of hot water over his head again at the thought of dressing and approaching Kojurou about such a fine matter, and threw the towel around his neck. It was 4.00 AM in Oushuu when its leader found himself staring at the moon through the shuttered bathhouse window that allowed the dormant sun to spread its light into the large vicinity, and turning his attention to the white robes that awaited his attendance to, the door slid open quietly and beneath the doorframe stood Akea holding her necessities in hand for bathing.

Masamune stared at her in more shock than horror as she stood staring at him naked in the middle of the misted room, and silently apologizing for intruding. The door had closed once again and she had disappeared.

There was no way Masamune was going to let her get away with this. Yet hadn't he locked the door? Besides, it was 4.00 AM and no one used the bathhouse at that hour of the morning. The warlord bit his gum and scowling as he threw open the bamboo doors to the indoor dojo where his pair of wings was bound to be at this hour, he drew his sword and pointed it at the calm Konoe that kept her hands folded over her lap serenely.

'Stand, Konoe!' the voice of the one-eyed dragon rumbled throughout Oushuu's headquarters where instantly, soldiers began flooding into the dojo to see for themselves just exactly what was going on.

Surprised by the grumpiness of her leader this morning, Akea stood on her feet without the intention of moving any further for the rest of the Date's daily episode of throwing tantrums and simply stared at the man whose face relaxed only a fraction by her attention.

'This is our final showdown!' he announced, choosing his words carefully so as to not subtly imply any longer that she should draw her swords this time in battle, and positioned his body for their daily brawl.

Akeakamai stood staring at her leader monotonously and found it a rather pleasant thing to do at the time considering the fact that she probably wouldn't be seeing his face after this for a long time again. She spread her legs apart and crouched, positioning her hands above one another in preparation to trap every one of his attacks when Oushuu's leader scowled and raised his chin.

'You can't be a man forever, dumbass!' he shouted from across the room where gasps filled the timeless silence after the echo of Masamune's defiant roar. The one-eyed dragon grinned at her speechless reaction and stared at Akea as her jaw dropped evidently and her eyebrows furrowed.

'**So marry me!**' he announced spontaneously on dropping his guard, and Kojurou face-palmed.

Akeakamai could not form even a coherent sentence mentally.

She stood defenseless in front of her leader as if stripped of everything, feeling naked beneath his gaze as everyone in the room stared at her in anticipation of a response, and stepped back unconsciously. This was _way_ _too sudden_. She couldn't fathom in those slow-motion seconds that seemed too stubborn to pass why on earth he would put forth such a ludicrous request, but the smirk on his face gave away the hint that he knew what he was doing… and the preposterous outburst of his tickled her tolerance, which was a particularly difficult thing to do.

'State your intent with such a proposal, Masamune-sama. I don't understand why someone with limitless ability like you would even consider such a peculiar detail.' She had managed to calm herself down with those few words and dropped her arms in waiting; the two of them still sharing a long moment of silence as they stared one another down; and Masamune scoffed.

'It's obvious, isn't it? Why do you think your father, Konoe Tsukasa old man, chose to send you _here_ of all places? His intention was to eventually merge the Konoe with Oushuu to stretch rule across the land and to build an even larger army so that our victory will be certain!' he raised his chin characteristically and watched the experienced swan that stood tally, clearly not amused by his explanation.

Secretly though, Akeakamai was considering the advantages and disadvantages of agreeing to the proposal. She gathered that her father would most certainly be pleased by the news and would happily offer her his consent… but something about the matter still made her feel uneasy.

'Give me one week,' she announced, raising her head confidently that sparked a pint of interest in her leader's eye as he grinned at the burning determination of his third-seat.

'I approve, Konoe!'

It was in the late afternoon that Akeakamai announced to the men she'd grown fond of in the past two months that she would be leaving the army.

After a small remorseful silence though, a roar of applaud dribbled from the centre of the group to the front and then the back. None of the men had individually wished her farewell, but watching them as they all shouted messages of her return by accepting the dragon's marriage proposal, she couldn't help but blush. It was most certainly a delicate offer to consider and again reminded of the earlier incident; she glanced about in hope to find her leader but wasn't surprised at his absence.

She figured by now that he was bad at things like this.

Masamune sat with his back faced toward the cheers from his men that wished his third-seat goodbye, and smoking tobacco from the long wooden pipe he rarely ever used, he sighed with both contentment and confusion.

Secretly in feud with his own difficult feelings, the strenuous exercise it put on his already weighted mind brought him to the question again as to _why_ he was attracted to such a woman that he couldn't even see off home. He bit down on the gold nib of the pipe and maneuvered his sharp teeth to the circular shape of the device in deep thought.

'Masamune-sama,' Kojurou entered the room before seating himself behind his leader in the shadows ritually. 'Konoe Akeakamai-dono has departed.' He proclaimed to the dragon that stared out into the distance, admiring the deep green stretch of land that nourished Oushuu's ground.

Frolicking about on the surface of greenery were birds of paradise in all hues, that danced and fluttered joyfully against the brilliant cerulean sky, and their presence had reminded the one-eyed dragon yet again of his pair of wings.

Yet the mental image of her splendor was short-lived. A cloud of black smoke erupted from the very distance that led trail to the Konoe residence – the very direction Akeakamai was going in to return home. Masamune instantly got to his feet and stood observing the plume of coal that was too far to be recognized by any ordinary individual, and grabbing his swords; leaving behind his helmet; he threw open the bamboo door and headed for his horse at front.

'Watch my back, Kojurou!'

Akea stared up at the nearing image of black smoke as it rained down over the path she rode through, and beckoning her horse to run faster, she dismounted from the animal in panic and rushed through the thorny foliage of Konoe. Breathing heavily as she arrived at the site of plunder, she was greeted by her worst nightmare – the remnants of the home she no longer has to return to. The Konoe residence was transformed completely into a dead zone. Everything was burnt to a crisp, leaving no trace of what once stood as a building of fortitude and nobility.

_I can't hear anything_.

'Oh my, is this a bonus?' Akechi Mitsuhide threw his white hair back over his shoulder and licked his lips, possessed by an air of cynicism. 'It seems that I've left a pup behind,' he mumbled to himself between intervals of taking drunken steps toward Akea, and exposing the bloodied scythe weapon he wielded in triumph of his mission given to him from Oda Nobunaga himself, he chuckled darkly.

'How will this one react? Will she stand down like her pathetic father and accept defeat so easily? My, oh my, how obedient he was…' possessed by scorn Akea could no longer reason with herself that hatred lives in the blade of justice. She hadn't believed in revenge… not up until _now_ at least.

'_Masamune-sama_…!'

Kojurou shouted after his leader and managing to bring the warlord to a stop as he galloped on his horse to back his third-seat, he stopped in an instant, remaining still as he took in the image of the fire that blazed in place of Konoe Wakato Tsukasa's abode.

His gaze had moved from the burning mansion to the site of his wings and he watched her closely, noticing her rage in an instant by the manner in which she'd clenched her fists and bit into her gum to keep herself from speaking. Masamune scowled, gritting his teeth at the scene but before he could charge in for the white-haired ghost, his lieutenant placed a hand on his shoulder solidly.

'Don't let emotions judge your actions, Masamune-sama! Think this through carefully before you act. Wouldn't you agree that intervening would only soil the pride of the Konoe?'

Masamune pondered for a moment as Kojurou's rational words cleared his flaring conscience, and gripping the hilt of his sword in silence, he swore only to move if Nobunaga's men moved an inch closer to her.

'Don't take a step closer.' Akeakamai weighed her voice carefully, and surprised at her level of tolerance, Masamune couldn't help but simply decide on not interfering at all.

'Don't make me lose it,' she warned Mitsuhide, and hardening her stance as she maintained the face of a statue, the intense level of hostility that blanketed the scene of horror snapped the moment Nobunaga's subordinate muttered: 'I wonder if your blood is as good as the others.'

Masamune witnessed Akea's hand move from her side to the hilt of one of the tachi on her back faster than the speed of lightning, and watching Mitsuhide smirk triumphantly on pushing the last of the Konoe to the edge of what she could handle, Oushuu's leader finally saw through his plan. A rifle squad stood on guard from behind the hedges of the premises, and aiming their shots at Akeakamai; Masamune charged in on his horse and ceased the sheath in her hand.

'_Oh_? Interesting, interesting,' Mitsuhide mumbled, stepping away slowly to create a distance between him and the one-eyed dragon. Masamune; scowling at the dirty tricks derived from the west; clenched the scabbard of his third-seat's blade of rage and lowered it considerably in an attempt to as well drop the intense height of her scorn.

'I didn't come here to fight with you. We're retreating. _Kojurou_,' he called for his lieutenant whom diligently advanced to leading his leader out of the battlefield.

The departure bruised Oushuu's leader's pride faintly as he yanked the Konoe up on his horse, and letting go of her frail body as he was certain she was seated firmly in place on the horse's back, Akeakamai fell against her leader's back feebly.

Surprised at the weight of her unconscious state as her front pressed against his back, Masamune's eyes widened at the site of the blood that trailed from her shoulder to the floor in dark red splatters.

* * *

.o. Sorry to put you guys in such suspense, but seriously, what do you think happened to Akea? Was it Mitsuhide? What's going to be Masamune's reaction!?


	6. Chapter 5

Please review, I'd love to know what you guys think of it so far.

* * *

The warlord dressed in white robes sat pensively at the edge of the paneled flooring of his chambers, biting down on the long tobacco pipe that bounced between his lips. The state of the country at this point with its wealthiest of royal families now completely annihilated was devastating news for Oushuu, as the eradication of the Konoe clearly spelt out that there was no longer an option available for the army in context of support… and this meant that Date Masamune's plan of merging with the Konoe would no longer be of use.

It was during the early hours of the morning when Masamune had decided to enter his third-seat's chambers. He stood in front of the closed door and considered going in, then leaving, then knocking, then questioning, then leaving, then going in.

'Konoe Akeakamai, stand!' he barged into the room where silence enveloped the latter of his roar on fixing his eye upon the crumpled form of his pair of wings that sat up dejectedly in her bed.

Bloodied bandages lay strewn over the floor that was once polished, and staring at the typically calm face of the last of the Konoe, he was surprised to see that she allowed herself to show even the faintest hints of struggle.

'Are you an idiot!?' he shouted at her, stomping toward the bed briskly as she attempted lifting her body up on her knees.

Seizing her wrists to stop her from un-bandaging the carefully wrapped wound in her shoulder, Masamune pushed her back down into the bed and watched as she breathed in deep breaths. Pitying her state of remorse as the weak glint of confidence in her eyes diminished, the one-eyed dragon couldn't help but wonder what he could do to stop her from giving him such a submissive expression.

Watching her as she slowly began to lose consciousness once more, only then did he realize that when he had pushed her back down on the bed, his hands were consequently over the shape of her well-shaped breasts. Blushing profusely as he pulled his hands away, his inexperience with the female gender clearly shown in such a matter. After calling the attendants to see to the wound once again, Masamune stomped back out of the room and shut the door behind him, embarrassed to the extreme and completely unsure of what to do to rid his hands of the sensation of having her soft breasts beneath them.

Thrashing open the paper partition to his quarters, the warlord seated himself back into his original spot on the wooden floor that had by now grown cold due to his momentary absence. The pipe… he had forgotten in his third seat's room. '_Dammit_,' he muttered, cradling his head from the front into his palm, and he squeezed his temples lightly in some futile attempt at massaging away the uncalled-for anxiety.

He had imagined such inhuman feelings to dissipate at this point, but the fact that they still lingered and even grew in those fleeting hours he hadn't seen her annoyed him. And yet in his lack of comprehension for the tender affair, Masamune folded his arms tiredly across his chest and continued to remain consumed in the depthless ocean of his own thoughts.

Ξ

Opening her eyes to the faint whisper of the nightingales that gamboled gaily in the middle of the night, apart from being curious toward their company at this hour of darkness, Akeakamai sat forward in bed, wincing as she gripped her shoulder tightly. She cursed beneath her breath, shouting at herself mentally for being so reckless on the battlefield – upset with her _lack of emotional restraint_. It was something her father had always taught her though ever since she was old enough to memorize things easily, and yet reminiscing the times when he'd shown her fatherly affection that could even chip the hardest of stones when she was told to turn a blind eye to such deep emotions…

On realizing how real this all actually was to her, Akeakamai stood from her monotonous position on the floor, and stumbling, struggling to regain her balance after two entire days without standing, she threw her hand against the wall for aid. After making sure that she still had all five senses intact, Akea continued to walk and advanced into the wooden hall that was usually used by the one-eyed dragon and his lieutenant for meetings.

And yet today there was no one there.

She stared into the vast blanket of moonlight that served as a tantalizing spot on the low edge of the balcony. Moving toward the beam of light she plunked herself onto the polished wooden surface of the floor and rested her back against the shoji, fighting back the memories that flooded her wounded conscience… memories of her father, _her family that was no more all because of Oda Nobunaga_.

Lifting the navy haori that waited in neat folds for Oushuu's warlord, Masamune draped the cloak over his shoulders and proceeded outside. Enjoying the cool sensation of the garden breeze that pressed against the soles of his feet as he lifted them with every step to the extended skirting that showed off the Zen garden, Masamune paused on noticing the white piece of fabric that feebly extended across the floor from a corner of the building.

Suspicious of the illogical object that was so randomly discarded outside; the one-eyed dragon had decided to investigate this further and peeked around the corner of the wall to find his third-seat asleep against the wood and paper partition.

Letting out a heavy breath of relief – chest heaving as he did – Masamune dropped to his knees slowly and simply observed the Konoe, widening his eye in disbelief at the dry impression of tears that began disappearing beneath the moonlight. He hadn't ever imagined seeing such an expression on his pair of wings face… the dejection in her frown, the loneliness in her weakly clenched fist – it made him feel as if he were going mad.

Noticing suddenly the posture she was asleep in against the wall, Masamune instantly felt his face grow hot at the site of her legs spread apart; exposing her underwear in the foetal position her body was in. The tightness of her dress constricted her thighs in a rather suggestive manner and scratching his cheek out of embarrassment; Masamune pulled off his haori and blanketed Akea with it.

_Shameless, shameless, dammit, and why was I staring._

Once again after a lengthened moment of pause, impulsive and young, the warlord of Oushuu extended his hand, touching his third-seat's cheek with the tips of his warm fingers. He trailed the dry shadow of tears that streaked down the round shape of her pale face with his thumb… watched her in a way he hadn't ever imagined he would watch her, and without considering the ramifications of his actions, Date Masamune enclosed Akeakamai in his strong arms, crushing her body against his. _What in the hell am I doing?_

Awakening to the sensation of losing the short breaths of sleep in her lungs, Akeakamai opened her eyes slowly to her leader's embrace. Surprised and confused at how on earth she was in such a situation, she was far too consumed by the solace such a simple gesture offered her chaotic heart. Beating tumultuously in her chest beneath Masamune's, Akeakamai bit her lip in an attempt to fend back the urge to cry and rested her forehead against his broad shoulder. Scowling from the emotional wreck the entire ordeal had turned her soul of steel into; Konoe Akeakamai at this point did not mind being comforted.

She had never once thought that consolation was possible… not by the man she saw only as her leader anyway. If only she'd known though at the back of her mind somewhere that this action of his would, in future, change the way she would see him from now onwards.


	7. Chapter 6

The words in caps is Masamune's awesome Engurish.

* * *

Awakening to the emptiness that blanketed the room like a hollowed emotion, Akeakamai blinked, adjusting her eyes to the woeful glow that entered the room weightlessly from outside. She could hear the rain falling on the other side of the shoji and continued to listen to the therapeutic shower of misery perhaps in desperation for comfort…

Akeakamai could feel her body beginning to burn up. She breathed heavily, frowning weakly at the scorching emotion that branded a heavy impression on every inch of her skin from last night. Suddenly the thought of her leader had constricted her heart. Blood rushed up to her cheeks quickly and she pressed her fist against her chest in an attempt to calm her racing heart. _What's wrong with me?_ The fierce way in which her body was reacting to the dormant touches of his skin against hers made her weak and embarrassed.

Lifting herself up from the futon, Akeakamai moved toward the paper partition and pulled it open, stepping out onto the elevated wooden veranda only to be welcomed by a chaotic storm that raided the sky above. She raised her head, clutching tightly onto the covering she brought out with her and on realizing this, she looked back down at it just as quickly… it was Date Masamune's haori.

The Konoe bit her lip, feeling her heart race a mile a minute again at the thought of what she thought was merely a dream being a reality. Somehow the thought had led her to remembering that today was the last day to voice her decision in regard to Oushuu's leader's marriage proposal.

* * *

The one-eyed dragon paced back and forth, striding coverage across the expanse of the assembly room that would on any ordinary day be deserted. Yet it was the infamous hour for the long-anticipated battle between the dragon and his pair of wings that not a soul in Oushuu's headquarters dare miss. '_She's late,_' thought Masamune repeatedly as he held his chin, lost in deep thought.

He was in fact in denial with himself. Unconsciously he continually began to remind himself that today was the last day for the Konoe to consider his marriage proposal, and walking from one side of the room to the other impatiently, he used this movement as a form of therapy to cool down his anxiety.

_What's there to be anxious about? Seriously? What's wrong with me? _

The wooden partition to the hall opened impetuously, followed by the graceful steps of the royal swan that walked with her shoulders squared and her nose high up in the air. The room instantly fell silent by the site of her appearance, and as if stunned by the mechanical air of prosperity she carried, Masamune's men stood mute as if weighed down by her powerful presence.

The warlord on the other hand seized his unease in an instant beneath her heavy gaze and stopped walking. He stood still at the centre of the room where they would usually face one another before drawing their swords for battle, and once again today, they had met in exactly the same positions like every other day before this. 'You showed up, _I see_,' he smirked despite the intense air she carried with her into the room.

Akeakamai raised her head, sweeping the length of her swallowtail hair against the calm breeze that allowed the golden tassels of her uniform to flutter, and softened her eyes. 'I have decided, Masamune-sama,' she mumbled, creating a stiffening tension in the air with her words.

Masamune in this case had for the first time no _clue_ what her answer would be to such a delicate matter. Surely he had considered her response with Kojurou at some stage and they had ruled out all her possible answers, yet still, the moment of truth was _agonizing_.

Her lips parted: '**I decline your proposal**.'

The room remained silent, and as if trying to compose himself from the state the ridiculously pressuring tension placed on his mind, Masamune narrowed his eyes contemplatively. 'May I request the reason behind your decision, Konoe?' even though on the inside he was brimming with questions… countless questions that revolved around the stupid word _why_.

_Why did you say no? Are you really just, after all, another typical royal blood? Is it because of me?_ Masamune mentally slapped himself for seriously just asking _that_ kind of question.

'What can you possibly gain from marrying a woman of no influential background, Masamune-sama? The Konoe are history. There is no longer value behind the name.' Konoe Akeakamai spoke with eyes that reflected nothing. The warlord noted this about her and simply frowned at her apathetic approach toward the situation even though the reason she provided him with was one Kojurou and him had considered the other night.

'So I come here instead to request permission to leave the army, Masamune-sama,' she whispered where with her words, gasps emanated from the crowd that gathered initially to witness a brawl between the two instead. It was evident from their reaction that in the few months the Konoe had been a part of the army that she fitted in well with the rest of the men serving Oushuu, but for some reason, the one-eyed dragon had noticed a rather different glint in his third-seat's eyes. As if noticing the pleading expression she'd given him for a fraction of a second, Masamune brought his sword forward and grinned.

'All this gloom is making me feel _sick_. _GET READY_, Konoe Akeakamai! Let this battle decide the answer to that!'

Akeakamai smiled at her leader's predictable response where that expression was, – witnessing it for the first time in so many months being around this woman – Masamune found, reason enough to not let her leave at all.


	8. Chapter 7

Throw me some reviews guys~!

* * *

It had been almost half a year later when Oushuu's leader sat patiently in waiting for the hour in which he would be marrying the only daughter to one of the Date's alliance clans, _Tamura Megohime_.

Ever since the fall of Oda and Toyotomi that was just a few months ago after the disappearance of the last Konoe, Masamune found his men in need of support. The aftermath of these leaders and their defeat had led to a destructive period of recollection where he had lost subordinates, and after considering the available options to him, found the unison of the clans a rather suitable decision that would have a long-term benefit to Oushuu.

'It is almost time, Masamune-sama,' Kojurou entered the room, walking in slowly before seating himself behind his leader ritually.

Masamune on the other hand could not have been bothered at all by the emotional strain the situation ought to have put on him. Instead, he found himself staring blankly at the Himalayan blue poppy that at the time had bloomed brilliantly and stretched toward the sun. The blossom had in fact reminded him of a certain someone who by now he'd accepted he was attached to… it had taken him half a year to admit it, and for some reason he was even comfortable with that embarrassing fact.

'Any report from Konoe?' he asked mindlessly – his voice an indication of his detachment from the world for that moment as he decided to just drown in the memory of her voice… the smile that she'd only shown him _once_ before.

Kojurou stared at his leader's back before smiling inwardly at the unusually quiet voice he used whenever he spoke of her. Ever since her leave, Masamune and Akeakamai had made an agreement to keep in touch once in a while in regard to the state of the country from her side of the land, and ever since then without fail, Oushuu had been receiving information from the lost Konoe. 'No, Masamune-sama. We have not heard anything further from Akeakamai-dono.'

Masamune smiled, fingering the odd blossom tenderly beneath the flood of sunlight that warmed his back. 'I see…' the strange site of the exotic swans that inhabited the pond lately somehow enlivened the quiet garden without _her_ presence.

Ξ

Standing only less than a meter away from one another, Masamune unconsciously began boring holes into the varnished floorboards, unsure of how to directly respond to the situation he was in. It was true that he hadn't ever imagined being in such an unforeseen state of affair since such a delicate position was far from what he was used to dealing with… and what frightened him the most was the mere fact that he was not on the battlefield, which was his natural element. He raised his head tentatively and found staring intently at his bride-to-be's white face more of an alibi to his inexperience in the field rather than a reminder of his inability to handle such an event.

Yet the eerie plate of steel set deep in her undertone yet torrid eyes had lacked the sort of comfort he unwisely sought. There was no doubt that something about the woman had struck a curious nerve somewhere in his chest, but at the time, staring at each other as the ceremony reached a close only heightened his level of interest. The unpredictable life he would be leading in the next few days would prove interesting enough.

_But then it happened_.

The large, tower-length doors to the wooden chamber unlocked – a gaping break of light shattering the silence that blanketed the heavy ceiling – and proudly entering the massive room, the raven and silver-haired heir to one of Japan's long-lost, wealthiest families violently forced in her attendance, interrupting the auspicious event with her haughty self that boomed splendor. 'I object to this wedding!' And like a typhoon she stood at the centre of the room, hardening her eyes with a fire that burned with confidence.

Masamune could instantly place the uncommon length of the individual in an instant. Eye widening at the form of the woman whose hair grew to an extraordinary length that it now reached her thighs, the warlord only momentarily began to process just what on earth she'd shouted prior to these thoughts. _Object… to this wedding…? What the—_

'Date Masamune… **_marry me_**!'

The one-eyed dragon stared at her in disbelief, standing idle directly at the front of the large, empty hall where his "fiancé" had for the first time actually made an expression. 'K-Konoe…? What are you doing here?' he struggled to maintain his cool, but instantly flushed at the hand the grinning Konoe extended for him to take from the distance between them.

'Date Masamune, I'm asking you to marry me.' She stated coolly (which was what he'd expected from her) and began to make her way up to the priest that with widened eyes couldn't seem to believe just what was unfolding before him. 'I give you my word, Tamura-dono, to compensate for your loss,' she assured the young, stunned girl whose faced portrayed utmost shock and horror.

_This is a bad joke. Someone tell me I'm dreaming._

* * *

Masamune woke up with a start, suddenly sitting up in bed as he gripped the sheets tightly and continued to stare blankly into the wall opposite from him. He held his head, attempting to massage his temples but was still pretty shaken-up after _that_ nightmare… he couldn't understand these dreams. They were ridiculously authentic, _so_ real, he felt as if he were going crazy.

Oushuu's warlord glanced about his room, attempting to settle the frenzied state of his mind by closing his eyes but he found his eye fixed to the ordained twin _tachi_ mounted on the wall beside him. He stared at it blankly, pressed his palm into his eye, stared at it again intently and was about to literally smack himself awake when the wooden door to the room had slid open.

He was staring at the goddess of a woman that ambled into the room dressed in white robes lined with exquisite gold fabric. The top portion of her hair was a brilliant white which stood out against the black length of silk that framed her pale face, and pulling the heavy mane over her left shoulder, she opened her eyes. Their sharp, steel-like quality glinted beneath the blanket of soft light that poured in from the lanterns that surrounded the large room.

'I see you're finally awake, Masamune-sama,' she whispered in a way that appealed to the warlord's keen ears, and looking away, avoiding the site of the shape of her exposed neck, Masamune frowned, knowing that his face at this point was probably bright red.

'Where's Kojurou?' he asked, obviously trying to somehow get out of the awkward situation, yet the unease in the air didn't seem to affect the Konoe.

She instead sat quietly beside her former leader's bed and closed her eyes thoughtfully. 'Kojurou-dono is currently in Oushuu, making the necessary preparations in regard to the extension of the army, Masamune-sama,' she added calmly, and her words had piqued the one-eyed dragon's interest.

'He's in _Oushuu_…? Then that means…'

Akeakamai sighed, staring at Masamune in a moment of silence before adding: 'You are in _my_ province, _Dewa_.'


	9. Chapter 8

Back in Oushuu, Masamune found himself once again brimming with questions.

Yet the feeling of marching together with his men again, having his lieutenant Kojurou and third-seat alongside him was one that stirred nostalgia… and that was exactly what had troubled him. Konoe Akeakamai was an individual poorly educated about being a bride.

* * *

On returning to base after the one-eyed dragon's encounter with yet another ambitious warlord opposing his ideals, the men had gathered together in the assembly hall in discussion of the matter. It was evident by the man's strength and his massive collection of soldiers that there was clear, raw intent that he would most likely become Japan's biggest threat as of yet.

Masamune held his cheek in his open palm, propping his elbow on his thigh, lost gloomily in the memory of retreating earlier in the day… the fact that in the time that he had that he could barely concentrate on the matter at hand in regard to strategically dissecting battle plans troubled him greatly. Biting on the inside of his gums, he watched the room clear out gradually, being the last to leave after being seen-off by his trusted retainer.

Placing each hand in either sleeve, he raised his chin, musing to himself about the countless things he had to take care of the next day. Pushing open the door to his room abruptly, the action had triggered the collapse of a dozen objects to the floor and Masamune jumped at that, staring right at the scene in shock to find his pair of wings.

A clump of white hair managed to tumble over the left side of Akeakamai's face as she sat topless at the other end of the room, having her back facing the door – her bare back facing the one-eyed dragon.

Masamune remained fixed to his spot at the entrance to the room, staring intently into the two lengthened lesions across his third-seat's back. In his inexperience with the site of a woman's bare body – be it arms, legs, anything – the warlord could not for that reason find himself capable of handling such a situation.

He gulped, suddenly feeling too awkward; almost feeling like a fool standing at the opposite side of the room from Akeakamai whom simply stared back at him with an expression of embarrassment on her face… it was an uncommon expression for her to wear.

'_Er_…' Masamune was about to shut the door again but her voice had beaten him to it: 'Can you… um, help me?' she asked softly, coyly almost as she dipped her chin, mumbling the question.

Masamune remained fixed to his initial spot outside the room. He had been standing there for more than five minutes now, still somewhat unable to move away because of how terrifyingly awkward his position was. But the thing was that there really wasn't much reason for him to _not_ help her since they were officially married. It was a quiet affair; something the two of them kept only between the army since their marriage in the first place was for no reason apart from combining Oushuu's prosperity with the ridiculous and recovered opulence of the Konoe who now ruled _Dewa_… or at least that was what Oushuu's leader had wanted to believe.

_She had looked like a swan whose wings were clipped. _

Her eyes were somewhat downcast, and her hands were over her chest protectively – her fingers pressed firmly around the shape of her soft, round shoulders. Her submissive, defenseless position then as Masamune made his way toward her with uneasy steps had reminded him of how alluring of a woman she really was.

Red-faced by the situation he was in, Masamune kneeled behind his _wife_; suddenly more discomfited by that fact; and cleared his throat awkwardly. 'How did you get these…?' he blurted in his moment of anxiety, cursing himself mentally for asking the question quickly until she had uneasily motioned to the glass bottles of medication with her nose.

Masamune glanced at the alcohols momentarily before reaching for the cotton wool and dabbing it with the medication. 'I got them today… _they're nothing though_,' he swear he heard her mumble that last part.

* * *

The two of them continued to share a silence that from awkward stillness drifted into a peaceful hush. A quiet spell had befallen the room, and almost ephemerally, Masamune found the action of tightening the bandage around the appealing shape of her porcelain-skinned body almost a natural thing to do. The tension between then had eased gradually, and tucking the end of the bandage beneath another layer of cotton; both of them trying to find something to say, something to do.

_Wife, huh…_

'What are you planning to do tomorrow, Masamune-sama?'

_I can't even touch you like you're mine though_.

'Masa…'

Akeakamai could feel her skin burn more intensely with every second that went by agonizingly with the look he was giving her. He was frowning and yet his lips were parted in a way that made her want to reach out to touch him, or do _something_ because even though she was burning on the outside, she felt as if she were freezing on the inside. Ever since that night when he had captured her heart so fiercely with the simplest of gestures, the _simplest of touches_, Akeakamai had yearned for him in a way she'd never imagined she could.

This was what made their marriage a ridiculous thought. She was a thorough-bred warrior. She didn't know how to serve tea let alone make it. She didn't know how to wear a kimono, she was uneducated on the colours of the universe which was something every woman ought to know, and yet she simply sat there in front of her _husband_, wondering what on earth he was so deep in thought with.

Masamune closed his eye, shook his head for a moment to clear his conscience and pursed his lips uneasily, averting eye-contact. 'You sleep here tonight. I'll take my leave,' he nodded, walking out of the room as if he were in a rush to do something.

_What's wrong with me?_

Ξ

Taking rushed steps throughout the wooden corridor that allowed his brisk march to resound, Oushuu's leader gritted his teeth uneasily, returning from an uncalled-for discussion with Kojurou that uncomfortably revolved around the Konoe – his _wife_.

The leader and his second-in-charge had argued based on the statement the one-eyed dragon had made in regard to the essentiality of allowing her to lodge in Oushuu. Surely she had her own province to look over. Surely she had other responsibilities, but Kojurou could not agree with his leader on this. 'Masamune-sama,' he said, watching the Date throw a tantrum more out of discomfort with his situation rather than the political excuses he'd used.

'Ultimately she is your wife. You, Date Masamune-sama as her husband, is meant to protect her and her land with this marriage as proof of your alliance.'

And on the inside, Kojurou was smiling.

Somehow he knew that this unfamiliar emotional matter would prove challenging to his leader who was a man completely oblivious to such things, and yet in some unexplainable way, Katakura Kojurou knew his leader would in time fall victim to his situation.

'_DAMN_, that Kojurou…' Masamune grumbled, cruelly shoving the door aside to the dojo where he had expected his pair of wings to be at this hour.

And there she was, predictably. She sat to herself at the centre of the wooden chamber in reflection. Her eyes were closed, suggesting how deeply in thought she was and her hands were placed over one another over her lap… nothing about her sitting position even shouted _I'm-a-woman_. If it weren't for her long hair, the shape of her face and neck, and the long clump of eyelashes that shuttered a portion of her cool eyes, she could have easily been mistaken for a man.

'Good morning, Masamune-sama,' she murmured, angling her chin in a certain way he found far too difficult to do himself, but noted only the fact that she hadn't addressed him as '_my husband_'.

He began to wonder at this point if her mother really hadn't taught her even the basic principles of being a wife.

'_Un_,' he sounded, acknowledging her greeting as he continued further into the room where Akeakamai had stood up in respect of her leader.

'Where are we headed to—' 'As my wife, I request for you to remain behind.'

Masamune hadn't said any more than that. He had left the room, leaving behind a cold blanket of silence in his trail where Akeakamai stood speechless at the centre of the hall. Her mouth was partially open involuntarily, portraying her shock and her hands were still fisted in anticipation of the battle beside her leader… but that was what she had to get used to.

He was no longer her leader – he was her husband and she had to be an obedient wife to him.


	10. Chapter 9

On returning home from the battlefield, Masamune found the site of his men amongst one another a rather pleasant one apart from the norm where his wife would be in the midst of their meddling. It was something he had expected everyday though; to see his former _third-seat_ conversing with the rest of the men and his generals about plans to infiltrate and conquer new lands.

Retiring for the night after a tiresome episode of battle against yet another province that set out to attack Oushuu, the warlord plunked himself into his seat where his dinner awaited him… a plate of unrecognizable Yakitori.

He scowled at the dish, peering over it a little more to get a closer look at the unfamiliar food when the door to his room had slid open and a form had walked in slowly.

* * *

He glanced up at the individual and simply stared at the figure, struggling to come to terms with the fact that Konoe Akeakamai was attired in a kimono and her wild hair was tamed into an elaborate, ancient Japanese hairstyle. Tortoise-shell pins adorned her hair in a mostly exquisite way, glinting in the soft light of the room where Masamune's eyes travelled from the hair accessories on his wife's head to the heavy-layered red kimono she'd worn. Somehow the crimson tint of the silk that morphed into a cherry red beneath the glow of the pools of light accentuated something daring, something ridiculously _audacious_ of her, and even though he pretended not to notice this, Masamune found the attire rather suggestive.

'Did you make this Yakitori?' he asked, breaking the heavy, awkward silence between them after a moment of picking a particular piece of food.

'Yes… it's Tempura…' she replied, staring blankly at the floor in a gesture of respect for her husband (it was one of the limited things she knew about being a bride after all).

Masamune could feel his fingers crippling as he now struggled to move the chopsticks to his mouth in fear of the unknown. The awkward silence had just grown from heavy to _unbearable_. He was embarrassed at mistaking the food, and still sitting in front of one another formally just like how a husband and his wife should over a meal, the warlord could not stop scrutinizing the dish.

_No matter how I look at it, it looks like Yakitori_.

'May I bring the tea, noble husband?' the way she addressed him just made the situation even more nerve-wrecking.

Masamune pushed aside this observation though and made a sound of approval as she still kept her eyes downcast and lifted herself from the ground effortlessly even beneath those countless layers of elaborate clothing. She had moved with surprising grace even though her body was being weighed down by the expensive clothing she wore, and watching her as she exited the room and returned punctually with a tray in her hands, he somehow couldn't take his eyes off this new image of her.

She had poured the tea, handing her husband the cup carefully as she did, still keeping her eyes directed to the floor when Masamune accepted the outstretched item.

'Raise your head.' He mumbled, tilting the cup at the same time Akea raised her chin.

The tea was… _odd_. It hadn't tasted of anything in particular, and for some reason that alarmed the warlord. He was so used to Kojurou's tea-making skills that these foreign meals just seemed far too intimidating, yet the fact that his former third-seat – a woman bred for the expertise of war, to participate in war, not carrying out the duties of a wife – had especially made the food for him made him feel uneasy with the entire ordeal.

Ξ

The one-eyed dragon the next day was unable to go out to war due to a terrible sickness, which he was positive the food he'd had the night before was responsible for.

'_Leader_…!' the men cried in unison outside his room, and after much persuasion from Kojurou that their leader would hastily recover, the rest of the clan, sniffing as they did, had returned to their daily duties sullenly. Of course the situation had somewhat worried Oushuu's strategist as sickness was something pretty rare around the army.

Sighing inwardly at this uncommon happening though, Kojurou had come to the conclusion that all they could do, ultimately, was wait for the speedy recovery of their leader.

* * *

Akeakamai rushed through the corridors of the large traditional castle and on arriving to her destination, pulled open the doors to her husband's chambers where she found him struggling for breath, sweating profusely beneath the covers.

Quickly she reached his side, kneeling beside him inaudibly before squeezing dry the cold towel and placing the rectangular sponge over his forehead.

Illness, even for the Konoe, was something she hadn't viewed lightly.

Ever since the discovery of her father's heart condition when she was younger, she had tended to his weak state in bed, constantly retiring to his side after filing and taking care of his daily exertions. It was a strenuous pattern of strokes he'd have at any unexpected moment, and becoming used to the huge responsibility at such a young age, the anxiety it caused her was still something she found difficult to become familiar with. Every one of the episodes in which he'd suddenly collapse would bring about the thought of what she would possibly have done if he'd died, and staring at her husband whom now lay unconscious in bed – looking no different from her sickly father at the time – she began to panic at the thought of somewhat losing this man that even though she hadn't shown it, she was attached to.

'Oi, what's with that expression?' his voice made her jump, and quickly adjusting her eyes to site of Masamune staring at her intently, Akea had only then realized just how relieved the sound of his voice made her feel.

'I'm not going to die _this_ easily, _ba~ka_,' he mumbled a little more affectionately to her on noticing the gloomy look on her face that he wasn't used to seeing.

She was a woman devoid of emotion, or that was at least what he'd always thought about her up until now.

'Masamune-sama, should I make you some tea?' she asked; her voice a serene undertone in the awkward silence that now transformed into a warm calm. For some reason the expression of utmost concern on her face just moments ago troubled him.

'N-no thanks… just sit. You're doing a good job by just sitting here.' He held her wrist to emphasize this, but looked away just as quickly to save him the brunt of dealing with her response to this.

'… Okay.' She mumbled, secretly enjoying the unnatural warmth of his hand enclosed around the shape of her own.


	11. Chapter 10

__Kyaa, please review and tell me what you think of the story so far~! I don't want to resort to sitting with a tub of ice-cream in front of the TV screen re-watching Basara! (Although I really wouldn't mind) ;D

* * *

_Give me a battle and I'm great – I can improvise._

_Give me these strange clothes, these foreign utensils, these odd things to make and I'm useless._

Reminiscing the words his wife had said to him the other night in apology for her inability to act accordingly as a woman of hospitable abundance, Masamune watched her in amazement as she instead spent her morning in company of the vulture that rested on her forearm. The swans had in turn taken a liking to their human embodiment, and as if quarrelling with the exotic bird of prey that clung to its owner minding its own business, the white mammals of flight surrounded her at the centre of the stone garden almost ephemerally.

The pouncing cat, however, in some delusion believing he was a tiger had ruined the fleeting bliss. The fat white cat had meowed, cooing at its failure before prancing about in search of fiends in the grass when Masamune had descended the corridor into the garden.

Breathing the air of life as he joined the swan woman in admiring the turquoise candy-coated ceiling of the sky above them, Reiko; the vulture; had once again taken flight and retired to his post above the gray-tiled roof of the high walls surrounding the castle.

'You're looking _cool_ today, aren't you,' Masamune grinned, tilting his head boyishly at the site of Akeakamai bathing in the charity of the sun that poured affection into the blooming chrysanthemums.

Akeakamai turned, angling her body in such a way that she had allowed her smile to reach her husband. 'I'm surprised you're up and about so early,' she murmured, extending her hand secretly into his as the two of them stood centering the pool of luxuriant lawn.

'My feistiness is rubbing off on you. _Not bad_,' he concluded in English, teasing her passively with the gentle tug of the shortest layer of her charcoal hair. She had laughed at this comical statement of his – her laughter gliding upon the warm breeze that carried spring with its tail – where her voice had sounded like a bell that chimed heavenly in an empty corridor.

Ever since he had fallen ill due to the food-poisoning she had caused him to suffer from four nights ago, the two of them, in his period of recovery, had formed a profound bond by simply being in one another's presence. It was an inexplicable happening, really, since during that time, the two of them had found it rather convenient to get to know one another, bit by bit.

And yet now he stood wondering how this woman had cost inspiration _such_ pain.

The first two days during his spells of illness though had been horrible. She had somewhat failed to look after him as well as she ought to. This had brought him to voice the question about why she wasn't taught these necessities when she was younger, and this had brought about her mystical explanation of the loss of her mother at a young age.

'You work out too much,' he blurted at one stage in the midst of examining her hands, followed by the rough way in which she'd handled the household items, and this had ultimately morphed into an argument that pulled in the mystery of the weekly-destroyed shoji. She pouted as their bickering had reached a quiet close in silence before mumbling:

'_Besides, how do you know my hands are rough? You don't even touch them let alone look at them. And how do you know the karate's responsible for the weekly replacement of the shoji? It's not like you've seen me train or anything_.'

Bringing these facts to his attention had made the one-eyed dragon want to know more about this enigma of a woman he was married to. That perhaps there was more to a family name, prosperity, talent, a pretty face.

Masamune amused himself by playing with her hands as she spoke; voicing her thoughts that covered in her pretty voice eased the warlord's conscience of his daily exertions to come. 'Cabbage, cabbage,' she mused, squeezing gently onto his knuckles rhythmically as she chimed when Masamune could no longer hold back his urge to hold her. He simply adored this animated side of her that livened whenever she'd see him, whereas before he would have seen her as a woman without character.

'_Ho~ra_, its cabbage, Katakura-dono's harvest,' she directed his attention to the wheelbarrow of vegetables that Oushuu's strategist began wheeling along the entrance corridors of the mansion.

A few servants had appeared to take away the fresh goods, and quickly diverting his wife's attention from the vegetables back to him in fear of her ruining their natural quality with her poor cooking skills, Masamune tugged on her hand gently, leading her to the pond where Sonano sat at magically wondering what on earth the fish were.

Katakura Kojurou had watched the two from his position beneath the shade of the exterior corridor. Somehow he found the heavenly view of the rock garden surrounding his leader and his leader's other half a rather pleasant thing to drown in.

It was an unusual site.

The remarkable development of their relationship throughout the week had proved his theory correct – he knew somehow that his leader would fall victim to such a situation.

_To think she was his third-seat just days ago…_

* * *

'Ah, going into battle so soon already?' Akeakamai questioned, enjoying the partly-existent strum of the shamisens that carefully sounded in the distance.

Masamune nodded, carefully fixing a clump of rice in between his chopsticks before placing it over his tongue… the taste was a definite indication of the servant's food rather than his wife's. 'It was just _food-poisoning_. Nothing big,' he shrugged off the urge to shudder in memory of the food responsible.

'Let me aid you in battle until you recover fully.'

'_NO NEED_, I'm fine.'

Even though Masamune hadn't raised his head to search her face for a reaction, he could tell that she was frowning out of displeasure by his stubbornness and defiance.

'When will you return?' she instead questioned quietly after a moment of deliberation.

Masamune had finished his meal, noting that his wife opposite him hadn't eaten anything off of her plate, and he pushed aside his emptied dish. Staring contently at her white face as the tenacious silver clump of hair at the top of her head began to fall out of place to return above her forehead, he had noticed the weight of her fabric-like mane begin to drown the exquisite pins meant to hold it in place.

Staring at the disorder of her ancient hair that obviously wasn't used to being confined in such a ridiculously ornate manner, Masamune had closed the distance between them, sitting directly in front of her. Akeakamai tensed at how close he was that she could actually smell the heart notes of cedar wood and something oddly sensual like mandarin on his clothes. It was a rather difficult combination to infuse at the time, and before she could shift her position to ease the discomfort their proximity to one another stirred, she felt his big hand enclose her fingers.

'_Sit still_,' he ordered her in English, and instantly, Akeakamai allowed herself to melt in his overpowering presence.

* * *

The shamisens had seized their music and their blissful songs were instead consumed by the sounds of the night, comprising of the summer cicadas that bustled. Captivated by rather the warmth of his large hand, Akeakamai could feel herself drop her guard slowly as Masamune had continued to pick the pins from out of her hair delicately. She was surprised at his knowledge of her dislike towards these excessive, overdone accessories that just seemed far too pointless, and only then had she realized that she was staring directly at him as her hair had fallen against the shape of her back.

Freeing her of the strenuous ritual to keep her head heightened in a certain way because of the heavy garments clothing her hair, Akeakamai had allowed her husband to hold her hands once again thoughtfully like he usually would. He would stare at them, examine them closely as if ingraining their essence into his single eye but do nothing more than that.

She was so used to her husband's introverted personality when he was in solitude that the two of them had somehow found a means of communication in silence, and yet this time, simple inert, passive glances were not passed.

He was touching her if not feebly, carefully guiding his hands from her palms to the shape of her neck beneath the warmth of her curtaining hair. She had cradled her jaw into his hot hands, staring at him weakly before being crushed in his embrace, struggling for air as if the two of them were lost lovers reunited.

On noticing the apprehension from the way her shoulders had tensed, Masamune had paused for a moment in recollection of his civility. Surely the way in which the Konoe had hesitated in her response to his touch had in fact brought surface to an expression he hadn't imagined she was capable of giving him. Her eyebrows had upturned submissively which seemed to soften her steel eyes, and her lips had parted in a docile attempt to keep herself from wanting to return the gesture.

This was when he had noticed the wetness of her cheeks as streams of liquid glinted against her pale skin beneath the touch of golden candlelight.

'… Are you crying…?' he voiced his first theory before moving his hands from her shoulders to her waist beneath the countless, ruffled golden silks of her kimono.

'It's the candlelight,' she assured him, smiling at the concern not in his voice as it ought to have been but the utmost hint of worry that washed over her with his gaze.

'Be honest, I suck at his stuff, don't I.'

Akeakamai chuckled at her rarely self-conscious husband and moved her hands from his solid chest to the contrast of the light brown mane on his head. She stroked his hair down affectionately with her long fingers, smiling at him tenderly as Masamune wiped away the faux tears from her soft cheeks.

'It's okay; we've got plenty of time to practice on that.' She whispered to him, pressing her forehead up against his even though at the back of her mind she was aware of the fact that her husband was a _daimyo_ – a warlord whose life was constantly weighed on war.


	12. Chapter 11

Flicking her tail of ancient hair as she circled the chain of the Kusarigama around the shape of her body, Akeakamai directed her solitude into the graceful movements of her waist, stepping delicately onto the stones that scattered like pearls against the grass.

_An entire week has passed..._

She harnessed the Kusarigama with experienced speed, reaching for her back as she gripped the hilt of her tachi. She unsheathed the blade carefully, drawing the shape higher against her fingers tenderly as it took the height of her form. Concentrating on the refined, sharpened side of the slightly curved sword, Akeakamai placed both hands around the hilt of the weapon and struck the air behind her, bringing the blade forward again in a circular motion.

_Shouldn't he have returned as yet?_

Reaching behind her for the second blade, she drew it ruthlessly before placing both above one another in thought of executing their movements perfectly.

Being married to a daimyo didn't necessarily mean she had to be viewed as a powerless individual only reliant on the strength and protection of her husband. She trusted him enough, but there was still the insecurity at the back of her mind that haunted her constantly – the insecurity that revolved around the situation her family had been put in a year ago… and she wasn't going to let the same thing happen again to her.

Staring into the snipped blades of grass that floated at her eye-level, she was interrupted by the cries of the maids that disturbed the serene quality of the spring morning.

'Akeakamai-sama, your husband has returned,' they informed in unison as they descended into the garden to goad the Konoe into exchanging her plain white kimono for something more ornate.

Refusing their requests though to decorate her in livery of all sorts, Akea had advanced to leaving her tachi in the servants care and walked through the endless corridors to reach the genkan. Her heels drummed against the hollow but firm walnut panels of the narrow corridors in the overwhelming castle of Date, swallowing the incredible height of her anticipation in seeing her husband again after nine days of isolation.

She hadn't imagined that his absence would make her this miserable. Even though she hadn't shown how despondent she'd been during the past week to the house servants, Akeakamai had in actuality no one to really hold a thorough conversation with. Masamune had in fact become her best friend in this place she still was not used to addressing as '_home_', and she had grown particularly close to his heart in return.

_As a wife, what should be the first thing I say?_

The intense mental planning had easily subsided with the warm air that greeted her on stepping out of the castle. Allowing her eyes to transition slowly from the dim-lit passages of the Oushuu fortress to the intense sunshine that beat over the land, Akeakamai placed her hand over her head to block out the harsh glow of the sun.

In the blurred distance she had managed to focus her colourless eyes on the band of horses that marched triumphantly throughout the streets toward the castle. The maids had rushed behind their leader's wife swiftly, attempting to somehow shield her from the sun's menacing rays of heat, yet Akeakamai had continued to refuse their concern for her.

_As a wife, what ought to be the first thing I say?_

She stepped forward, gradually accelerating into a jog that transformed into a dash towards the surprised leader of the returning army who had out of concern for his running wife, dismounted his horse. Bodies colliding beneath the blanket of warmth the sun draped the town with; Akeakamai buried her nose into the crook of her husband's neck and wound her arms around the shape of his armored torso. Masamune had – without hesitating for yet another second – responded to this action by consuming her with his entire being, blocking the sun with his broad shoulders and healthy back. He was constricting her in his arms, not wanting to let go in fear of having to leave her again.

_How ironic. Words in this case are empty._

'_Yo_,' Akea mumbled into his muscular neck, grinning wildly in a futile attempt at concealing her elation by his return.

Masamune on the other hand couldn't form a coherent response to her slapdash, _un-wife-like_ greeting on seeing her husband after an entire week. He was instead somehow captivated by the fulfillment of having her in his arms. He hadn't imagined that he would crave for her in such an intense way, but now that he finally had her to himself, he couldn't bring himself to part with this moment of bliss he never knew was possible for a fearsome dragon like him to fall into.

Ξ

'I have a proposal to make, Masamune-sama,' Akeakamai blinked softly on staring directly at him across her over dinner.

She watched her husband eat his meal contently, having the rice bowl positioned in the large shape of his opened palm and the chopsticks in his other hand. He looked up from his meal and noted once more – even after the duration of his leave – his wife's dinner was absent… this was somewhat becoming a ritual.

'Where's your food?'

Silence ensued. 'I don't have any to eat.'

'Why not?'

'I'll get fat.'

'Your words just _drip_ with sarcasm.'

Akeakamai turned her head, directing her gaze to the floor suddenly feeling self-conscious beneath the searching gaze of the warlord's single eye. She was aware of his observation of this for the past few weeks, and ever since she had wondered what sort of answer she would give him for her complex relationship with food.

'I'm… not fond with these sorts of extravagant things,' she pointed to the warlord's dish with her eyes.

More silence ensued. She was suddenly insecure with the fact that she couldn't word what she truly wanted to say at that point, but the unexpected laughter that erupted from the man across from her cleared her muddled conscience in an instant.

'What kind of an explanation is that?!' he chuckled, suddenly folding over for a fraction of a second in pain, but even the wounds that troubled him throughout the duration of this week hadn't seemed to seize his amusement.

'_Oi_…!' Akeakamai shouted at him in a hushed voice, clearly showing her concern for the man as she brought herself closer to him.

She was blushing uniquely at how awkward the position put her in that she had no way to escape the one-eyed dragon's interrogation. She hadn't wanted to show him such a weak expression. She had extended her arms, placing her hands on either side of his waist protectively in intense mental brainstorming on a way to somehow ease his pain… which once again, she found herself unable to do in fear of messing this up too due to her lack of education in the field.

'_GOTCHA_,' he mumbled to her in English before folding his arms around the slender frame of her body. The two of them collapsed to the floor in a rumpled heap of blue and white – Akea clothed in her casual, plain white kimono robes – in a fit of laugher above and below one another.

* * *

Masamune pinned his wife's wrists to the floor in disregard for her giggling requests to let her go, planting butterfly kisses along the curved shape of her neck, moving to her jaw and then her cheeks. Akea kicked playfully beneath him, trying coyly to hide the urge to somehow turn the situation around when his grip on her arms had turned into the interlacing of their fingers gradually.

Akeakamai could feel her cheeks begin to flare as the lighthearted nature of the situation transitioned into an intense moment of fervor. Burning on the outside at his touch as his lips had moved to hers, pressuring them softly with his own as if testing her obedience. Steadily, they began to kiss one another, overcome by obsession for the opposing entity. Masamune pulled away, catching his breath for a second when he had noticed the flourishing beauty of the Konoe.

He hadn't believed the rumors that spread about the family name ever since the obliteration of the royal bloods. There were things he'd heard over his travels about the noble family that revolved around the myths of their women being of ruthless standards. Rumors about the single daughter that ever since the disappearance of her mother had been brought up with knowledge of the sword. She was taken into battle, learning to overlook human emotions and never knowing the warmth of a familiar when the rumors had concluded that _she_, ultimately, was the outcast…

But what Masamune was witness to in that moment was nothing but a woman who lay beneath him with her hair strewn like threads of rare ebony silk, coating the tatami in a layer of gleaming darkness. Akeakamai strained her ears for the softest whisper, for the faintest breath, anything that she could grasp to prove she wasn't the only one consumed by heat and confusion. She could feel the strident hammering of her heart against her ribcage, ready to explode at any moment now if he'd touched her the way he did only seconds ago when she realized that it wasn't _her_ heartbeat – it was Masamune's.

'What was your proposal?' he mumbled, still having himself over her as the two of them shared an intimate silence.

Managing to compose herself; still rather distracted by the impression of his gentle kisses that travelled up her neck and on her mouth; Akea parted her lips: 'I request to return to Dewa for a few days.'

Masamune hadn't said anything much thereafter. He simply busied himself with stroking a particular strand of her hair and playing with her fingers as if they were an instrument.

After a long moment of silence however, Masamune huffed his response: 'I refuse.'

She wasn't disappointed by his answer. In fact, she had expected him to put her through the guilt of _you're my wife_, and _I told you not to get involved in these sorts of things_, but he was rather passive towards the question. Akea used her core muscles to lift herself from the floor, placing her hands over his chest as she steadied herself on her knees.

'You would refuse me of my duty, Masamune-sama?' she whispered in his ear, frowning subtly as she leaned forward towards him in order to meet his eye.

The warlord closed his single eye and grunted a response. She could tell that he was somewhat upset by the sudden request that seemed to have ruined their intimate moment together, but she had a trick up her sleeve. 'I'll bring you back souvenirs…,' she began to bribe him slowly, nudging him with light pokes to his shoulder but he still remained discontent.

Akea dipped her chin, fingered a thick ribbon of hair that wove its way around her shoulder, and began to slowly peel away the white robes. She had managed to expose her left shoulder completely, breathing with some difficulty when she could feel her husband staring at her in shock.

'Oi, what are you…' 'If you refuse, then…,' suddenly fueled by an urge to be daring and out-of-character, Akeakamai allows the kimono to expose the white of her skin as she falls against her husband. Gripping onto the front of his robes, she presses her bare chest against his; her breathing audible huffs in the dimly-lit room.

'_Please_, Masamune-sama~.' She whispers to him.

Surprised by his wife's newly-found outrageousness, Masamune can barely speak by the uncontrollable beating of his heart. Flustered by her undressed state as she clothes herself against him, he struggles to piece again his thoughts. What was it that she had asked of him again? 'Um… yeah, sure…' he reaches for her falling robes and quickly drapes her shoulders.

Her eyes instantly light up. 'Yes?' 'Yes.'

Grinning brightly from ear to ear, she kisses him despite his shock and confusion: 'Thank you, Masamune-sama.'

* * *

_A/N: Yes indeed... an update is long overdue! Hope you guys enjoy this one, a lot of thought's gone into it~ ;D Big thanks to Gin Nanashi for her amazing review on the story recently. Your review was like a kick in the butt, so thank you again~! XD _

_And reviews are love guys. Throw some at me! 3_


	13. Chapter 12

A white line of light cuts through the sky like a knife through silk.

She raises her head, taking note of daybreak as Akea supervises the preparation for her journey. The few men she's taking with her round up their belongings, making final checks on the reins of their horses.

Testing the cool air with her eyes closed, Akea mentally psyche's herself for the long journey up-country. Ever since the message she had received only days ago concerning Mogami's men moving forward into the province, waging war against Dewa for the southern land. Negotiations on her return would be in abundance, as war was the last thing on her mind for her people.

Consumed in thought of her province and the upcoming concerns she would be faced with on arrival in Dewa, Akeakamai fails to notice the absence of her husband. She was not at unease however by his behavior, and rather expected him to be upset this morning on realizing just what he'd agreed to the night before.

'Your men are ready for departure, Akea-dono.' The Date retainer announced, bringing his leader's wife out of her reverie as she mounts her steed. 'Many thanks for your services, Katakura-dono,' she glances back at the castle one last time before softening her eyes at the thought of her away husband.

'_Farewell_.'

Ξ

Clearly agitated by the bustle this morning outside the castle, Masamune sits between the parted shoji and admires the rising sun in an attempt to conceal his troubled thoughts. Surely this morning had been his wife's departure to her province… and yet however much he was displeased by this, he could not help but be pestered with the paranoia of her being in danger somehow.

He bites down on the steel pipe between his lips. Jaw clenched, the door to his quarter's slides open and he is greeted by his trusted vessel. 'Lady Akeakamai-dono has departed, Masamune-sama.'

He grunts a response in acknowledgment of the information, and Kojurou slides the shoji to the room closed and sits with his hands over his thighs. Despite his leader's wife's leaving due to some political chaos in Dewa, messages have been conveyed to Oushuu as well of some sort of battle taking place soon.

'Speculation has ballooned from these war threats from Mogami that the clan is as well planning to invade Oushuu… however it was not difficult to see through their plan,' Kojurou directs his attention to the map spread out against the tatami. 'Perhaps he is scheming to divert your attention to our allegiance up north, where only then will he invade Oushuu? Or perhaps is he arranging to invade Dewa from below, within our territory?'

Kojurou pauses, deliberating greatly on the matter at hand before turning his attention to his leader's back. 'How do you intend we act, Masamune-sama…?'

Yet the one-eyed dragon is unresponsive. He sits despondently facing the harsh morning rays of light, staring intently at the bucket flowers as they wither in preparation for winter. 'Masa…' 'We stand our ground. I'll not allow my men to move in uncertainty. You are dismissed, Kojurou.'

Instead of his concern melting away, it builds like a steady wall within the clan's retainer. He wonders for a moment, unsure of the cause of his leader's discomfort, but decides to not dwell any longer and leaves the one-eyed dragon's quarters in silence.

Masamune however – despite his attempts at using the information of their neighboring provinces speculated attack routes to distract himself – is unsuccessful at pushing aside his paranoia for the Konoe… not that she still was a Konoe anyway. He groans at the most vexing emotion that sits at the very bottom of his heart heavily and manages to spot the white cat as it perches itself in front of him, returning from its adventures in the gardens.

'What? Your owner's not here, so beat it.'

Sonano simply stares back at the man, and Masamune stares back as if expecting it to respond. The feline allows a sound of irritation; it appeared to the warlord; and slowly brought itself forward as it tentatively crawled into Masamune's lap. His tolerance only declining in the least by the cat's insolence, the one-eyed dragon can't help but simply place his hand over the cat's head and allow his thoughts to waft to the overbearing concern for his wife in Dewa.

* * *

Upon her return, the Konoe was instantly showered with gift upon gift. Yamagata Castle – upon entering from the East Gate – was surrounded by a mass of water where beside the constructed stone walls were blooming cherry blossom trees. Striding in gracefully on her steed as she passed beneath the large, ornate arch of the castle, Akeakamai is greeted by an endless row of house servants. She was grateful for their services in the castle despite her extensive absence, and seeing them again doing well was a pleasure even for the warlord herself.

'Welcome home, Konoe-dono,' the servants all welcomed her in unison as she dismounts her horse.

She removes her helmet and with a simple flick of her wrist, loosens her hair as it falls in black wisps behind her. The heat that plagued her and her men during the journey to Dewa was an unbearable punishment… so much so that her undergarments were damp with sweat.

Hiding her agitation by this fact, Akeakamai accepts the servants' offers to help remove her armor as she enters further into the bowels of Yamagata Castle.

Ξ

Nightfall in the Yamagata prefecture held a spectacularly different ambiance to it. It was clearly different to what she was used to seeing in Oushuu, consisting of a wider array of brightness that she was certain was most likely otherworldly. So immensely consumed with mentally applauding the sky for allowing her eyes to grace its beauty, she is unaware of the councilmen around her as they call her name in an attempt to pull her out of her reverie.

'Konoe-dono…,' her thoughts drift to what the fearsome one-eyed dragon of Oushuu must be doing at this point.

Still slightly disheartened at the fact that he hadn't seen her off on her journey, she was instead more intrigued at the thought of how he fares without her.

_Helpless man?_

She nods at the proposals one of the village's leaders bring to her attention, followed by a few speculative looks by her own councilmen. Agreeing to portion the land for villagers to grow whatever vegetation they needed, she was happy that the meeting was put to an end peacefully.

_Not quite._

* * *

_A/N: Sorry if this chapter is really short and doesn't include much Masa-chin... ;.; It's so difficult planning out war strategies! There's just... way too much brain power going into all that, arrrrr~ _

**_Reviews are love, gaizu. They keep me going. _**_So please throw some at me! Constructive criticism is always welcome. ^^_


	14. Chapter 13

'_Milady…!_'

Akeakamai stops in her tracks, angling her body difficultly to peer at the voice from behind. She is accompanied by 3 servants as they carry her necessities from the bathhouse with her to her quarters despite her refusing their services. 'What is the matter, young man?'

Her question seems to faze the youth as he stops dead in his tracks at the sound of her powerful voice. 'A-a message… for milady!' he bows quickly, shutting his eyes as he directs them to the floor and extends his arms.

Akea accepts the scroll he offers and continues further down the passage, excusing the maids of their help. She scans the hand-written text – her eyes widening with every word she processes – and just as quickly the tall document crumples in her shaking hands. Mogami wages war against Dewa _tomorrow_? The idea was a most preposterous and perplexing one, however the first thing to dawn on her was to write to her husband of this affair. Dewa being interconnected to Oushuu could prove the attack devastating if Mogami truly _did_ in fact mean business… but the Konoe refused to be overpowered by the enemy.

Stomping to her quarters after making the necessary arrangements to meet with Dewa's councilmen, Akea throws on a coat over her white robes and sets off to the wooden chambers designated for the meeting.

'Konoe-dono, to summon us at such short notice…' one of the council member's moan, only to be shocked by the scroll their warlord opens against the table centering the large room.

A cold silence descends above all seven people in the room. They stand around the low table scanning the contents of the scroll – some of the members taking their respectful seats in preparation for the meeting. 'When did this message arrive?'

'I wouldn't know the answer to that question. What I want to ask is why does Mogami's clan plan to strike at such short notice?' Akea massages her temples, taking a seat at the head of the table. 'Did we not appease their demands? Did we not offer them the land they requested for whatever little they had to give us in return?'

A member of the organization raised their hand and the Konoe nods them approval to speak. 'I don't see why this would come across as a problem though, milady. We are indeed prepared for battle – we have been ever since the news of their threat had reached our ears.'

Akea breathes out deeply, placing her hands over her knees. So deep in thought, the question as to _how_ the message even got into the confines of her castle completely slips her mind.

'What action do you intend we take?'

'We are prepared to fight, of course!'

'Hah, don't be so ridiculous, young man. War cannot simply be waged by paper.'

'What do you mean? We could be attacked at any day, any hour even!'

'Yes, certainly we must take action!'

'Please enlighten us, Konoe-dono.'

Akeakamai opens her eyes again, unaware of how much air she had been holding in all this time. She exhales – the action comfortably unbinding her knotted stresses. 'We will ready our forces and prepare to defend what is rightfully ours with our lives.'

* * *

_'… your wife,_

_Akeakamai Date Konoe._'

She hadn't imagined signing even a brief letter of attention would be this formal as she could not for the life of her get used to seeing another name beside hers… or rather a name _between_ both her original names.

Akea secures the scroll in the sharp beak of the vulture before encouraging it with a jerk of her elbow to ascend. She watches the giant wingspan of Reiko's form as he disappears into the distance with her note to Oushuu: the letter carrying contents of her whereabouts and the route she would be taking to the very southern tip of the province.

Mogami's men were reported by the scouts she sent out not long before this morning to have been departing both directly into Yamagata and also from Oushuu, where she was certain the one-eyed dragon would take care of that.

She is shortly found by the house servants who help tighten the armor to her body, giving the metal thorough checks even as she walks to the castle courtyard to address her men. She had arranged to depart in an hour's time, and checking the time of day, she was certain any later would result in the enemy treading filth into her province.

* * *

Two hours into travelling with her men to the border between the designated provinces where war was intended to take place, the land was barren. Akeakamai – frowning at the anomaly of there being no men in sight within range – orders her men to conduct a perimeter search. Each of them return unsuccessful.

'There's no one to be sighted, Milady,' one of the soldiers announce, shielding his eyes from the sun with his opened palm.

The calm continues as the army stares into the distance as if calculating some sort of mishap. Had her planning gone by unchecked? She was certain more than anything that she was rather punctual… in fact she had moved out into battle earlier than what she had planned, and yet how could this have happened?

'There's…'

_No one here._

The realization is like a blow to the gut. It finally dawns on her that the enemy has instead changed course and invaded from below in Oushuu as an entire unit. She mentally curses herself for being so careless, and orders half the men with her to return to Yamagata Castle – the rest ride on with her to the Southern tip of the province into Oushuu.

How could she have been so blind so as to not have predicted this? Yet the question that haunted her at such a crucial time was _how did that message get into the walls of her castle in the first place_?

Ξ

Date Masamune yawns, testing his neck as he moves his head back and forth, then in a circular motion. His single eye meets the sky, fixated on the unmoving clouds as they recede and darker clouds come into view. The sight allows him to forget if for a moment why he hadn't as yet heard from the Konoe in Dewa for the past 4 days of her absence… dwelling on the subject only made him more agitated and fueled his childish anger.

He was standing a mile away from the gates of Oushuu's castle to await his opponent, not contemplate on his wife's incompetent messaging.

Kojuurou on the other hand had noticed in this past week the growing attachment his leader had grown toward the white cat of his wife's, Sonano. It was an odd thing in particular to take note of, but somehow this cleared his suspicion of him actually missing the Konoe's presence.

'Wake me up when you spot the bird, Kojuurou,' Masamune announced before collapsing back on the fresh carpet of grass beneath him.

'Yes, Masamune-sama,' he acknowledges his leader's request, also somewhat growing despondent to the matter at hand, however, still being alert for activity.

Kojuurou himself had found the entire ordeal a rather peculiar one. Considering the fact that the vulture of his lord's wife hadn't made an appearance as yet in Oushuu set alarms off in his mind. He kept this observation to himself, squinting slightly afar where a rising shadow sprouted at the foot of the distanced mountain.

He tried to fathom what in the world it could possibly be to realize abruptly that the rising mass was in actuality… an army of men. 'Masamune-sama,' he calls – the alarm in his voice forcing the warlord to his feet.

The one-eyed dragon however grins in response to the site of a few hundred men approaching at considerable speed. 'Now this is exactly what I need to clear my head…' he strides slowly towards the growing mass, drawing 3 swords in each hand.

'_Let's party!_'

* * *

_A/N: I've decided to update this fanfiction as punctually as possible. Since I'm also currently so into writing, I must take advantage of my inability to stop, haha. Apologies for how serious and unemotional this chapter has been as well, wars and strategies are a pain. Next chapter though is going to make up for all this, I promise. ^^_

**_Reviews are love, gaizu. They keep me inspired to write, so don't be afraid to write some_**_. Even if it's a simple one, it's still something and I'm always pleased to read them._


	15. Chapter 14

_How could I have been so careless?_

It hadn't been her intention to relieve almost her _entire_ army of their duty, but it had to be done… what she was racing into was the unknown, and she couldn't put so many lives at risk. Her own would suffice if it must come down to just that.

The journey to Oushuu was a long and weary one – the cold evening temperatures taking a toll on Akeakamai's body as she rode on in the darkness. Yet the adrenalin in her blood drove her to go on. She refused to set camp despite the night approaching fast behind her, because she was certain that whatever Mogami was planning was falling directly into his hands…

* * *

_How could I have let this happen?_

Another grueling hour of being exposed to the elements had Akea's entire body frozen to the core. Her bones felt filled with resin as she and the few men with her approached closer to the site of destruction.

The once green field of a place she was so familiar with was now a garden drenched in blood and snow. The closer she delved into the remains of a terrain bursting with life, the more she dreaded she would find the thing she wished she wouldn't – traces of the one-eyed dragon.

Akea dismounts her horse, staring into the darkness with unease; her hands wrung tightly around the reins of her steed.

'Milady…' her men call out to her as if to assure her that the task needn't be done, and yet…

_This is all my fault._

She moves forward. At first, tentatively due to how stiff her limbs have become from being in the cold for so long, but gradually she throws her arms back and forth with every stride into the shadowed distance. She passes moving arms, twitching fingers, broken and bloodied swords, and every possible thing you would expect to find in a warzone except for the thing she was looking for the most – her _husband_.

_Why is it that I can't protect anything?_

Breathing has become a difficult thing to do.

Despite her chattering teeth however, Akea bites down on her gums so hard that it stops her from shaking. She can hear someone speaking… or at least _trying_ to speak, but she doesn't bother to pay the strangled voice much attention. She is so intent – _so driven_ – on finding just this one man that everything else falls into the back of her mind.

The soldiers follow her into the pit of horror, running to the few people they found still alive within the heap of death. 'What on earth's happened here…?'

Another soldier shakes his head in disbelief, carrying a casualty by the shoulder and waist to his horse. 'A massacre, that's what.'

'Was this perhaps… Mogami's doing?'

An even heavier silence falls over the group as they each turn their attention to their warlord's back as she treks into unknown territory. They stare at her as she's suddenly attacked from the shadows. Quickly leaping forward to her aid, they instead stand in shock as she wraps the chain of her Kusarigama around the neck of her attacker. She tightens it, allowing a spurt of blood to erupt from the warrior's throat, staining her uniform considerably. The dead man falls to his knees – the scene rendering the soldiers at her back speechless.

_Why can't I protect anyone?_

'Milady, we've found Katakura-dono!' a pair of soldiers announce as they attempt lifting the Date retainer to a nearby horse.

However their discovery does not manage to lessen Akeakamai's anxiety. She is so consumed with fear and helplessness that all she's capable of doing is walking. The cold has frozen over her keen eyesight and ability to hear. Despite how hard she's clamping her teeth into her gums, she can't feel the pain anymore and they still managed to chatter.

Akea stops to remind herself to breathe, also remembering to somehow calm herself down when she notices a few swords scattered, erect tip-first into the ground. She examines the anomaly further, slowly coming to realize how similar the hilts of the swords are… the swords of the one-eyed dragon.

_Am I truly that weak?_

She starts running again despite how stiff her legs had become from standing still for only a minute. Her hearing slowly returns to her as she can now hear the crunching of snow beneath her feet. Her heartbeat quickens; adrenalin pumping; as she arrives on site where she planned to… the pool of blood where Oushuu's leader lay motionless.

It wasn't like the renowned daughter of Konoe to lose control. The person her soldiers saw her as was a woman made of iron – unbreakable, unmovable, _proud_… and yet the sight of her husband laying still on the frozen ground blew a gasket in her brain. She sprinted to his side, losing her footing in the process, but regardless of how difficult it was for her to move she forced herself to carry the weight of the warlord. She struggled against gravity – her legs buckling beneath the pressure as the soldiers rushed to aid her.

_I will never be a protector…_ the realization cut her heart like cold steel.

Ξ

'… _ne_…' he can hear a voice faintly calling…

'… _Masa_…' the voice is a strangled version of one most familiar.

Having difficulty placing the voice, he figures opening his eyes would be a much easier option in taming his curiosity. The action however is an impossible one considering how heavy his eyelids feel. Perplexed to the extreme by the absurdity of how incapable these actions have become so suddenly, all he can do instead is recall what had happened before this.

_War…_ and yet the rest was a complete blank in his mind.

Masamune opens his single eye sharply. It's relatively difficult to adjust to the darkness, but lying within the confines of the shadowed room slowly eased into his sight.

The room is familiar to him. The different shades of blue that greet him upon awakening inform him gently that he's in Oushuu's castle. He rises. Memories of where he'd been just minutes ago are still a blank in his mind. Deciding against wracking his brain simply trying to remember such trivial things at this point, the one-eyed dragon instead directs his attention to the bandages wound tightly around his torso.

He gives the thick gauze a once-over before slapping his hand against his abdomen, only to quickly regret this action. He winces at the stabbing pain, unsure of what exactly is concealed by the sarashi, and returns to lying back down on the futon. It takes a few minutes for the pain to subside completely when Masamune once again decides to prod the wound; only this time, tentatively stroking it with his fingers. However much he felt it though, he was still incapable of placing what could have possibly happened to the area.

Frustrated at himself for not being able to recall such important events prior to his awakening, his first impulse was to summon his retainer… and yet instead, all Masamune does is remain unmoving beneath the thin sheet, staring at the ceiling.

He stays this way for a long moment in deep thought until the shoji to his room parts. The light escaping into the chamber makes it virtually impossible to make out who the person entering was, but on further inspection as the paper door closed, it dawned on him that it was his wife – Akeakamai.

Akea – deeply in thought as she entered the room – was unaware of her husband's awakening as she spreads out bottles of ointment and rolls of sarashi beside his bed. She takes the dry cloth from her side and dips it into the wooden bucket behind her, squeezing it gently before turning again to notice Oushuu's warlord awake and staring directly at her.

She hadn't expected him to regain consciousness this early after she and her men had found him near death outside the castle walls, and yet being able to see him awake squeezed her heart in the most pleasant of ways.

'_Oi_…,' Masamune attempted calling her for the _third_ time, confused as to why she was just simply _staring_ at him like he was some creature she'd never seen before.

'Are you okay? You look like a dead person.' He blatantly remarks, clearly not expecting a retort from the Konoe.

However despite the fact that she _is_ usually always this unresponsive to his wit, the warlord's concern grows immensely by her despondency. Masamune is about to speak again until he notices the wet cloth fall from her shaking hands. Following this, Akeakamai collapses over his thighs, shocking the warlord as he responds by sitting up again quickly – the action triggering a discomforting stab in his side.

'Oi, what…' 'Akea-dono,' the shoji parts once again; the voice familiar to the one-eyed dragon's keen ears.

'The medicine you requested…' Kojuurou stops mid-sentence, simply staring at the incredibly suggestive position the two were in.

'T-this isn't what it looks like…' Masamune glances back and forth from his suddenly unresponsive, collapsed wife to his trusted retainer whom simply closes the shoji again and disappears with nothing much but a quick bow of the head.

_That was… incredibly awkward._

'Oi, K—' he pauses to correct himself, 'Akea, what are you doing!?'

It was still a rather awkward thing to call the woman by her shortened first name despite the fact that even his men addressed her like this. Calming himself down from what happened just moments before this, a comfortable silence had engulfed the dark room. During the brief sense of calm, he had managed to catch glimpse of his wife clawing her fingers into the blanket restlessly… seeing the woman of steel – the last of the Konoe – even allowing such little of her angst to ooze out of her tight shell was in itself a worrisome thing.

'I'm sorry, Masamune-sama…'

The warlord can't help but be baffled by her words, and yet most of all, the fact that she had uttered such words with utmost difficulty pained him slightly.

'I am to blame for what happened two days ago… and I wish to take full responsibility for my carelessness. Let me instead carry the burden of the lives that were lost at the war.'

He doesn't respond, and Akea is instantly assured by his silence that he is not impressed. Over the few days of his slumber, she had wondered how she would approach the matter, but now that she had cleared her thoughts with him, all she could do was wait for her judgment. She raises her head, sitting up again quickly; her eyes glazed over with brimming tears.

'I…' 'It's okay…' Masamune mumbled gruffly, placing his hand over her head. 'It's pretty obvious that plans got screwed up, and there's no way you could have controlled what happened. So it's okay…,' he paused, quickly looking away from her to hide his look of embarrassment.

'You can stop making that expression… just… _don't cry_.' He closes his single eye; unaware that all this time he's been holding his breath; and exhales deeply.

He hoped she had heard him, considering how low and deep his voice was when he'd spoken, because he knew he really wouldn't be able to say any of that again. Akea though – staring at her husband as he lay down in bed again – couldn't help but feel her heart squeeze pleasantly in her chest at his words.

'Now tend to me.' He commands her, still avoiding eye-contact.

Akeakamai can only smile at the man she remembers returning to her. 'Yes, Masamune-sama…'

* * *

_A/N: Next chapter... is filled with even more 'squee' moments, trust me *o* _

_And remember kids, __**reviews are love beyond measure!**__ So throw me some! :D_


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